Carpe Diem
by GypsyQueen
Summary: Everyone is safe and it seems that everything is going to be all right….. Well, if life doesn’t get in the way. Can Angel Investigations go back to ‘work as usual’, when Spike and everything else just seems to get in the way? THE END! Now, review
1. House of Cards

I think it should go without saying that I don't own Angel, BTVS, or any of the characters in this story, but I guess I have to say it anyway. I don't own Angel, BTVS, or any of the characters in this story.  
  
Anyway, this story can be read as a stand alone (or not), as long as you know that Spike is a part of the Angel Investigations family. I'd like to thank everyone who read 'The Dalliance of the Eagles' and ask you to *please* review and tell me what you think of this idea. Either encourage my genius or discourage my insanity. (Hehe. A joke.) Anyway, thanks bunches and...  
  
On with the show.  
  
::Carpe Diem- House of Cards::  
  
"Hey, Angel. You gonna' take all day, cause we're wasting daylight." Spike sat there staring at his hand. Three queens, and two kings stared back at him.  
  
"Daylight that we would spend doing what? Sunbathing? Just shut up and let me think." Angel looked over his cards and took a good look at his childe, then at Wesley and Gunn. "Hmm... Go fish."  
  
"Oh!" Spike slammed his hand of cards down on the table. "Play right, Angel! That's no more funny now, than when you did it the first two times."  
  
Wesley smirked over at Gunn, who was chuckling under his breath.  
  
Angel pointed over at the two men, with a smile. "They seem to think it's funny."  
  
"They just think that that stupid cow lick look, you got going, is funny." Spike picked his cards back up and sighed. "Come on, Angelus. Be a sport. It's your turn."  
  
Angel ran his fingers through his 'bangs' and shook his head, when he realized what he was doing. "Gimme two." Angel put down two cards and waited for Gunn to pass him a couple more off the top of the deck. Angel picked up the cards and made them the part of his makeshift fan.  
  
"Not a flicker on your face. How did I let you talk me into playing cards with you, Mister Impassive?" Spike looked back at his cards and groaned.  
  
"One." Gunn said, as he put down a card and slipped another off the top of the deck.  
  
"I'll take two." Wesley threw his cards over to the side and waited for Gunn to deal him two more. "Thank you."  
  
"No problem." Gunn smiled, as he sat back on the two back legs of his chair. "It's nice to have the women-folk gone and to just hang out."  
  
"What's that?" Lorne asked, as he made his way in the room.  
  
"Gunn was just saying how it was nice that we guys got some time together, while you girls went shopping." Spike smiled up at the demon and cocked his head to the side. "What happened? Aren't you supposed to be out picking up some pumps or something?"  
  
Lorne grinned widely and pulled his glass up to his lips. "Spike, darling, you can bite my emerald green..."  
  
"Whoa!" Gunn looked up at Lorne and shook his head. "There's no reason to get nasty with each other."  
  
Lorne shrugged and walked over toward the couch. He was resigned to watching the boys play a little bit of poker. He had a hunch that one of the two vampires, at the table, was cheating and he was pretty sure it wasn't Angel. He decided he would like to see how the game panned out.  
  
Spike threw down a buck and placed his cards, facedown, on the table. "A dollar hand, my friends."  
  
"Ah... big spender." Angel looked at his hand and back up at Spike, so he could study his face. "I see your dollar..." Angel threw a buck in the pot. "...and raise you two." Angel tossed two more dollars in, with the first.  
  
Gunn looked at his hand and then at the pot. "Hmm."  
  
"Come on, Gunn. Make hay while the sun shines." Spike muttered.  
  
"If that's a reference to slavery I'm going to kick your ass, bleach boy." Gunn picked up a five dollar bill and threw it in. "My hand's, at least, worth five dollars." He stated, as he put all four chair legs down on the ground.  
  
"It was not a racial reference. It means..." Spike waved his hand in the air, as he searched for the right words. "Strike while the iron's hot." Spike put his hand down, when he caught the look of uncertainty on Gunn's face. "Carpe diem. Seize the day? Ring *any* bells?"  
  
Gunn rest his elbows on the table, put his two hands together, fingers intertwined, pointers forming a steeple. "If you don't quit talking to me like I'm stupid, I'll ring *your* bell. Got me?"  
  
"Yup." Spike saluted Gunn, from his temple, and grinned. "That was a very mum thing to say, by the way."  
  
"I fold..." Wesley placed his cards down on the table and slumped in his chair. "...and I have to agree with Spike. That was a very mum thing to say."  
  
"What do you mean by that?" Gunn looked between the two British men, with a certain mixture of interest and confusion.  
  
"I mean... Well, let me give an example. Mum, can I have another piece of cake? Oh, William, I'll give you a piece of my hand if you ask again." Spike put on a charming falsetto, as he made his point. After a moment, he peaked at his cards and nodded. "I see the bet." He threw out a five and sat back in his seat.  
  
"Hey, have you heard this one? Mum, may I please drive the car? Wesley Wyndham Price, I'll drive the car you!" Wesley cleared his throat and looked down at the table. "No? I guess my mother was the only one who was crazy, then."  
  
Spike grinned at the Englishman and nodded. "Perhaps. I liked my mum."  
  
"A little too much." Angel muttered, as he threw out a five. "I'll see the bet."  
  
"What do you bloody well mean by that?" Spike glared at his Sire.  
  
"You turned her, Spike. You think Dru didn't tell me about the mother-in- law, being on your honey moon?" Angel shook his head. "Big mistake."  
  
"You killed your mum! Your whole family, for that matter, and anyone who met them." Spike cast accusing eyes on Angel.  
  
"I killed her, Spike. I didn't make her into a vampire. For one thing, I didn't want anyone around that was going to nag me, for my whole un-life. No one wants their mom hanging over their shoulder, for the rest of forever. Well, except for little British momma's boys."  
  
Spike jumped across the table and tackled Angel to the ground. "You trying to start a fight, Sire?" Spike had a hold of Angel's collar and slammed his head into the hardwood floor.  
  
Angel used his weight to flip the two of them over, so he was lying on top. He yanked his head back, successfully pulling Spike's grip loose, and went to grab Spike's arms before he could hit him anywhere painful. "I'm not saying she wasn't a nice lady or that she wasn't pretty enough." Spike bucked widely, trying to fight the grip his Sire had on him. "It's just that Dru turned *you* so that you could keep her company, not so *you and your mom* could keep her company."  
  
Spike stopped squirming and fell still. "If you were so disgusted, then why didn't you kill me at the beginning."  
  
"Cause I didn't find it disgusting. I thought it was cute." Angel let his grip go, when he thought Spike wouldn't hit him. It was a bad idea. Spike struck out and caught Angel's chin with his fist. Angel swore and spit out a small amount of blood, as he got up off of his childe.  
  
Spike jumped up from the cold ground and walked over to the table, so he could take his seat. "Shouldn't we show our cards, now?" Spike picked up his hand and looked at the other two men at the table. Gunn was, little less than, gaping at him and Wesley's eyes had grown to the size of saucers.  
  
Angel crawled over to the table, on his knees, and wiped his lip with his shirtsleeve. He looked at the blood smear and shook his head. "Another ruined shirt, Spike. You know what that means?"  
  
Spike shrugged. "You going shopping again?"  
  
"No, I'm going to be walking around half-naked, cause I'm tired of spending money on shirts." Angel pulled himself up into his chair and settled into the seat. "You feeling better?"  
  
"What?" Spike put his hand back down on the table and looked at Angel with obvious disbelief.  
  
"You were being pissy. I wanted you to blow off some steam." Angel grabbed some skittles out of the bowl on the table and popped them in his mouth. "Worked." He said around the mouthful of candy.  
  
"You're an ass." Spike grumbled, as he flipped over his cards. "Full house."  
  
Angel nodded, as he flipped his cards over. "Royal Flush."  
  
Gunn threw his hand down and sighed. "I was bluffing."  
  
"Badly." Spike stated, with a smirk.  
  
"I could actually smell the bluff on you." Angel agreed.  
  
"Oh, well color me surprised." Spike grabbed at his chest, over his unbeating heart and feigned a gasp. "You have a strange fetish there, Sire."  
  
"No more strange than any of yours." Angel smiled darkly at his childe. "If you really want to get into this, I think I could bring up quite a few peculiarities of your own."  
  
Lorne grinned and leaned forward in his chair. "Oh, please do."  
  
Spike put his hands up. "Show some mercy, Angel. You taught me better than that. You don't declare war on someone that you can't possibly beat."  
  
Angel nodded and collected his winnings from the middle of the table. "Which is why you should never have suggested poker as a good game for us to play. You can't beat me."  
  
Spike chuckled in, what could only be described as, a sinister fashion. "Angel's not just an ass. He's an 'ass man'."  
  
Angel's head snapped up.  
  
Spike nodded. "He likes small muscular behinds. Doesn't matter what they're attached to."  
  
Angel's mouth hung open. From the look on Spike's face, it seemed that he was going to talk some more. That could not end well. Angel picked up his cards and tossed them in Spike's face.  
  
"Come on, guys. This is supposed to be a friendly game of poker. Not a vicious game of 52 pick-up." Gunn groaned and bent out of his chair to pick up the cards.  
  
"Watch out Gunn. It may be just a little too tempting, when you wave it around in the air, like that. He'll pinch it. I've seen him do it!" Spike laughed, when Gunn shot up in his seat. "You didn't even get the cards."  
  
"You said he was going to pinch me." Gunn shot a glance between Spike and Angel. Angel shook his head and Spike just laughed some more.  
  
Spike decided to soothe the young man's fears, a little. "No, you're not really in danger, Gunn. You're too butch for 'im and a little too ebony. He likes 'em pretty and blonde."  
  
Lorne nodded. "Like you?"  
  
"Well, of course like m... No!" Spike sneered at the demon. "You sickie!"  
  
"Just a question, Mister Protest Too Much." Lorne leaned over and picked his drink up off the ground, next to the couch.  
  
"Reference to Shakespeare?" Wesley asked, amusedly.  
  
"Yup." Lorne said, as he took a sip.  
  
"Very good." Wesley sighed and sat back in his chair. "How did this game turn out like this?"  
  
"Turn out like what?" Angel asked, as he straightened the bills in his hand.  
  
Wesley stroked his upper lip and smiled softly. "With Spike questioning his sexuality and you winning all of our money."  
  
"I'm not questioning my sexuality! I don't have to question something I know the answer to! I sleep with girls. Lots of girls, for that matter!" Spike shrieked, in horror.  
  
"Since when? Since Buffy?" Angel asked, stubbornly. "Who has there been?"  
  
"Well, I'm waiting for a special someone. You know, unless Darla comes back from the dead. That's the exception. I got to jump her bones if she comes into town. That's what souled vampires do, right?"  
  
"Dru told me that Spike liked candles during foreplay." Angel eyes flashed yellow for a moment. "They didn't even have to be lit."  
  
"Oh, hell!" Gunn groaned. "I don't even want to guess what you meant by that!"  
  
Wesley stifled a laugh and glanced over at Lorne. The demon seemed a little redder, than he remembered him being.  
  
Spike gasped and shook his head, before letting out a, less than manly, squeak. "Angel likes wearing lacy things against his skin. Says it feels sexy."  
  
Angel quirked a brow and sniffed the air. "Spike likes to spray women's perfume around the room and then twirl in it. He looks and smells like a little girl, when he does it. Pretty and innocent, like. Kinda' smells like one now."  
  
"Angel used to get drunk, eat oysters, and then throw the shells off of tall building, at the people below."  
  
"Spike used to get drunk and pass out, cause he couldn't hold his liquor."  
  
"My liquor? I could hold *my* liquor, well enough. It was *your* liquor that got me so pissed! Might as well been drinking gasoline. My insides coulda' ignited, if I had been eating Mexican."  
  
"Mexican what?" Angel asked with a grin.  
  
"Well, I'm not talking chimichangas." Spike said with a laugh.  
  
"Umm... Excuse me?" A small voice made the men turn around and take notice of a young woman standing in the Hyperion doorway. "Is this Angel Investigations?"  
  
Angel jumped up from his seat and walked over to the women, offering his hand. "This is Angel Investigations. I'm Angel. Is there any way we can help you?"  
  
"Damn it. We're on a vacation. Didn't he put the sign out on the door, like I told him to?" Spike muttered, just loud enough for the woman to hear.  
  
The girl paled, as she took Angel's hand, and looked as if she was ready to faint. "I was told by a friend, that if anyone could help me, you could, but I can leave if it will be a problem." She gave a little sigh, let Angel's hand go, and started to back away.  
  
"It's all right. Don't listen to him." Angel smiled invitingly. "What can we help you with?" Angel heard the girl's heartbeat pound just a little bit faster.  
  
"It's my son." The woman pulled a wallet out of her purse and flipped through the picture booklet. She pulled out a picture of a little boy and handed it to Angel. "My friend Missy took him to the zoo early this morning and I haven't seen them since."  
  
"Kidnapper?" Spike turned to face the woman, his brow furrowed in concentration.  
  
"Werewolf." The lady pointed out the door. "It's the day before the full moon. She should have had him home hours ago. She would never forgive herself if... I would never forgive myself..." The woman broke into sobs.  
  
Angel patted the woman's shoulder sympathetically. "I know what you're going through. I have a son of my own. He's eighteen now. He was taken as a child."  
  
"Did you get him back?" The lady wiped the tears from her eyes, as Angel offered her a nod and a smile. "My little boy has to be okay. You will find him won't you?"  
  
"We will do everything we can to find your son. Andrew?" Angel read the name off of the back of the picture.  
  
The woman nodded. "He likes to be called Andy. Kids are so temperamental at that age. I thought five was a difficult year, then six came around."  
  
"Wait until he's a teenager." Angel shared a smile with the woman and continued. "If you will just give me your number, I can contact you when something comes up."  
  
The woman gave Angel a card out of her purse. "My names on the top. That's my cell, fax, beeper, home, and work number. If you can't reach me on any of those, try the number scribbled on the back. You will always be able to reach me at that number."  
  
Angel nodded, as he stared at the card.  
  
"I should be getting home. Please contact me if you hear anything. Anything at all." The woman was already walking back toward the door, shoving items down in her purse. She turned back toward the gang and smiled, weakly. "I assure you, if you find my little boy there will be no end to my gratitude." The woman chewed on her bottom lip and sighed, before heading out the doorway, into the night.  
  
"If we find little Adam, there better be no end to her pocket book." Spike said, as he slumped down in his chair.  
  
"Spike!" Both Angel and Wesley exclaimed.  
  
"What?" Spike looked over at Gunn, for moral support. "I was just saying what was on everyone's mind, right?"  
  
Gunn shook his head. He was half amused, half put off by Spike's display of indifference.  
  
"What?!" Spike pushed himself up out of his seat. "I was trying to lighten the mood you ponces." Spike walked away from the sources of his annoyance, toward the stairs. "Angel can call me a British mama's boy and you all get a big laugh. I don't get you soddin' gits." Spike muttered all the way up the stairs.  
  
Angel watched Spike make his journey up the staircase and then looked back at the card in his hand. He flipped it over and read the back. "Huh."  
  
"What's that Angel Cakes?" Lorne stood up from his seat and sauntered over to Angel's side. He looked over the vampire's shoulder and took the card hostage. He flipped it over and studied both sides, trying to see what Angel found so interesting. Without even realizing it, he broke out in a grin. "Well, ain't that just peachy."  
  
"What's that?" Wesley asked. His interest was obviously piqued, from the peculiar way both Lorne and Angel were acting.  
  
Gunn fidgeted in his chair. He hated being left out on the action, even if it wasn't exactly action packed. "Yeah, guys, what's up?"  
  
"It's seems little Miss Muffin's name is actually Amelie McDonald. So, in essence, we are looking for little Andrew McDonald." Lorne suppressed a grin and continued. "On the back of the card there is a number and the name written in, what can only be called chicken scratch, above it is... Lindsey."  
  
"You're kidding." Wesley's jaw grew slack and Gunn just shook his head. "As in, Lindsey McDonald?"  
  
"Are we ever going to be through with those... those?" Gunn couldn't find the right word, but when he did he knew it would be a doozy.  
  
Spike's approach was a little less than stealthy, as he stomped down the hall and leaned over the stair railing. "Oh, and another thing, Angel..." Spike realized something was off, the moment he saw Angel's eyes. They were sullen, with just a slight mix of anger and revulsion. Nothing should cause that look but me, Spike thought to himself. "What's wrong?"  
  
Angel shrugged. "We're going to be sucked into the pit of hell."  
  
"Oh." Spike nodded a second and seemed to give the comment some thought. "Well, that's nice."  
  
TBC  
  
-Well, this seems to be another story, doesn't it? Oh well. Please review. It will really give me a boost (or deflation) in confidence.-  
  
--This story is called Carpe Diem, which is Latin for 'seize the day'. The subtitle was called House of Cards, cause... the whole chapter dealt with... cards. *nods slowly* Yup. Sometimes it's our simplest ideas that are our funniest mistakes. You can quote me on that.-- 


	2. Carnival of the Animals

I don't own BTVS or Angel, unless you count the videos in my room. I don't own any of the characters in this story, except the obvious ones. Okay, Joss is the genius and I am only a humble minion, but thanks for indicating that I'm something better than that. Ahem... I thought about all the ways I could add Buffy in this story and I came to the conclusion that I could not write her in to it. The storyline wouldn't be able to take it. (I'm pretty sure Spike and Angel wouldn't be able to take it either.) Also... *studies fingernails closely* who said this was A/S? *stifles laugh* Hey, it's all in how you read it. Anyway, I guess we should get...  
  
On with the show.  
  
::Carpe Diem- Carnival of the Animals::  
  
"Fred, those shoes look beautiful on you. Have you ever worn heals like those before?" Cordelia walked through the door of the Hyperion carrying a bag from Neiman Marcus, with Fred right on her heals.  
  
"No, I'm really not sure they're me." Fred stumbled over her own feet and sighed down at her shoes. She heard a groan behind her and looked back just in time to see Connor struggle with an armload of bags and boxes. He seemed to be struggling to keep the packages from slipping out of his arms and to keep his knees from buckling. "I think Connor may be having a harder time than I am, though."  
  
Cordelia glanced back over her shoulder and smiled at the boy. You couldn't even see his face. She put down her bag and walked back to help him. "Some people will just never get the concept of making more than one trip." Cordelia took some boxes off of the top of the never-ending stack, the boy was carrying, and smiled when she could finally see his face. Connor looked ready to laugh, cry, and snarl, all at the same time. "Better?"  
  
Connor nodded, until he realized the movement was knocking his packages off kilter. "Yes." He said as he pushed the bags up with his knee and almost toppled over.  
  
Cordelia cupped her hands around her mouth and yelled. "Someone be manly and help Connor with the bags!" There was no response. "Well, don't everyone rush to do it all at once!" Cordelia jumped when she heard a crash behind her. She turned to see Connor, empty handed, starring at the pile of packages at his feet.  
  
He looked up at Cordelia apologetically and shrugged. "I'm sorry."  
  
Cordelia shook her head. "Don't worry about it. It wasn't your fault. It was..."  
  
"What happened." Wesley walked into the room, from the kitchen, and took in the scene before him. Connor was standing over a pile of scattered packages, Fred was staring down at her feet, in a concerned fashion, and Cordelia was tapping her shoe, while staring at him scathingly. Fred was wearing heals?  
  
"You made Connor drop our bags." Cordelia stated matter-of-factly.  
  
"And the boxes. Don't forget the boxes." Connor added.  
  
Cordelia nodded. "What were you have been doing that was so important, you couldn't help out Connor?"  
  
"You were standing next to him. Why didn't you help him out?" Wesley questioned, with a grin.  
  
Cordelia lifted her arms to show off the glittering parcels. "I helped." Cordelia tossed her head back at Fred and grinned. "She can't even walk right now, so I figured I should get one of you guys to do it."  
  
Wesley nodded. "I see. Well, it seems that we have been hired for a job." Wesley pointed back at the office and sighed. "Angel and Spike have been in there fussing for ten minutes. Lorne and Gunn finally got tired of the 'meeting' and left. Lorne went up to his room, to drink, no doubt. Gunn went for a drive. He's asking around town about a little boy, Andy. It seems that his mother let him go to the zoo yesterday morning, with her friend. The woman seems to have been a werewolf and..."  
  
"Full moon." Cordelia finished for him. She shook her head.  
  
"That poor lady. She must be so scared for her son." Fred sighed. "I hate when we have to do jobs dealing with kids."  
  
"Yes." Wesley agreed. "But in our line of work you can't expect children to be immune to any such horror."  
  
"Wesley's right, of course." Spike chimed in, from his place in the office doorway. He had just finished up a lovely little chat with Angel, about how it was too dangerous for him to go look for a werewolf alone. He had heard of overprotective parenting, but this was too much. "Lots of demons aren't too very particular about who they maim and kill, like werewolves. Others, lots of others, actually prefer smaller, daintier dishes. Innocence is priceless."  
  
"Thank you so very much for that unnerving little display of creepiness." Cordelia sighed, when she saw Fred slump down in the nearest chair. "Now look. You upset Fred."  
  
"I did not." "He did not." Both Spike and Fred chimed in, at the same time.  
  
"See!" Spike pointed over at Fred. "She's stronger than you people give her credit for, Cordy. I've heard what chicky has gone through and I think she can handle the truth."  
  
"Thank you, Spike. Now, shut up." Fred put her head in her hands and shook it. "I love that ya'll care about me, but you can't shield me from everything." Fred sighed. "Always protecting Fred. Protect me from information, pictures, ugliness... I can take it." Fred looked up with wide eyes. "I don't like it, but I can take it."  
  
Spike knew what the girl meant. Everyone in this office seemed to be shielding someone else, at every moment of the day. Spike figured it was a meeting of souls, because he was almost sure he had felt a certain warmness pass over him, when Fred was talking. It was comforting.  
  
"Spike, I need to get through the doorway, if you don't care."  
  
Spike looked back at his Sire, oddly. The man was right at his back. "What you givin' off heat now, Angelus?" Spike stepped out of the doorway and let Angel pass.  
  
"What are you talking about, Spike?" Angel sighed. His childe was being extra difficult tonight. Oh, lucky him. He actually thought he could go on search for Andy, all by himself. It was ridiculous. Spike couldn't take a walk to the Pharmacy without getting harmed in some form or fashion.  
  
"You." Spike pointed at Angel and scowled. "Warm." Spike stopped pointing and stroked his bottom lip thoughtfully. "Nevermind." He muttered.  
  
Angel nodded and rolled his eyes, as he turned his back toward Spike. That was when he saw his son stacking boxes, like a stock boy at Wal-Mart. "Connor, what are you doing?"  
  
"I'm ignoring the grown ups. It's what teenagers do." Connor fussed with a shoebox that's lid didn't want to fit. Cordelia walked over and bent down to hand him a different lid that had been sitting behind him. He looked at it and exchanges tops. "Thank you." He put the top on the box. It was too big. "Do you think you got enough shoes?" Connor mumbled.  
  
Cordelia grinned and kicked Connor another top. "I haven't had much use for shoe buying lately. Thought it would be a nice change of pace. You know, now that I'm no longer 'Psychic Girl', the clairvoyant Power Ranger."  
  
"Wesley was telling us that a little boy was taken to a zoo... by a werewolf?" Fred piped in. Angel sighed. "Yes. I don't want to take the case though."  
  
"Why?" Connor stopped what he was doing and looked up at his dad. "Don't you want to help him?"  
  
"Ye..."  
  
"No." Spike interjected. "He doesn't want to help the kid cause his daddy or uncle or somethin' is a lawyer."  
  
"Well, that's a bit harsh." Connor commented, as he pushed himself up from the ground. "I suppose a few people here or there might think twice about helping me, because my dad's a vampire, but still."  
  
"Do any of you remember when he didn't talk?" Angel said, reminiscently.  
  
"When he hated you?" Fred asked, confusedly.  
  
"No, before that. When he was a baby." Angel sighed. "You used to like the ridges of my face. My 'real' face."  
  
"I used to like the ridges of you face." Spike muttered. "Until I knew what they meant."  
  
"Now, what are you talking about, Spike?" Angel stomped his foot impatiently. "You didn't know me, until you were already turned."  
  
"Yup, but you never showed your face. You showed it when you were feeding or when you were pissed at me. For the first few years it was only at feeding." Spike paused. "No other face has ever been able to strike so much revulsion and annoyance in the heart, of little 'ol me."  
  
Cordelia stopped the two men's little argument with a question. "Why are you not wanting to help, Angel? It doesn't make sense."  
  
Angel shook his head. He really didn't feel like answering that question. He felt that if he said it out loud, it just made it all the more true. And what if it wasn't? Of course, other people were named Lindsey and the last name could be a coincidence. It may not even be a man, he told himself.  
  
Wesley realized Angel didn't feel inclined to answer, so he took the initiative. "Spike was, sort of, right." Wesley pulled out the business card, the lady had given them and handed it to Cordelia. "Angel thinks it may be *our* Lindsey."  
  
Cordelia nodded. "That's nice. Now, why are we not saving this little boy?"  
  
"Yes, shouldn't we help him, anyway?" Fred asked. "I mean... it's not his fault who he's related to."  
  
"Who's Lindsey?" Connor wondered. It was so frustrating sometimes, knowing that even though this stuff happened when he, logically, should have been up and walking around... It had happened before he was born.  
  
"She's a nice girl. I'm sure you'd like her." Spike gave the boy a smile and received a pair of crossed eyes. "Where'd you learn that?"  
  
Connor grinned, proudly. "Fred taught me. She said every 'kid' should know how to cross their eyes and roll their tongue and whistle. It's mandatory."  
  
Fred nodded. "He has the whistle and the eyes down, but he can't seem to master the tongue rolling."  
  
Angel was becoming worried. "What are you doing with my son's tongue?"  
  
"Oh, come on, Sire." Angel shook his head. "You know!" Spike insisted. When Angel just shrugged, Spike decided to give a demonstration. "Like this." Spike made a rolling 'r' and kept it going and going and going...  
  
"That's amazing." Connor gasped. "Will I be able to do that?"  
  
"Kind of." Fred watched Spike, who was two seconds away from getting smacked by Angel.  
  
One. Two. Smack! Angel popped Spike, upside the back of the head. "Stop."  
  
Spike continued. It was so much fun, not having to breath. It came in handy if you had to stay in a big wooden box, for a little while, or hide at the bottom of a lake, for any amount of time. It also came in handy when you wanted to annoy your Sire. Spike decided enough was enough, when Angel looked ready to pop. "That's how you roll your tongue."  
  
"Thank you for the demonstration, Spike. It was enlightening." Wesley chuckled. Angel looked ready to skin the vampire.  
  
Spike nodded. "Of course, it was. I'm very educational. Oh, Angel, I'm going to get you back for that hit you got in, there." Spike gave his Sire a look that most people would have quivered in fear over, only a few years earlier.  
  
Angel just smiled. "I'll be waiting."  
  
"Wait a second." Connor was confused. Hadn't he asked a question? Yes. "I still don't know who Lindsey is."  
  
"I'd rather you didn't." Angel answered. It was true. He wanted Connor and Lindsey to have nothing to do with each other. The last thing he needed was Lindsey to come in and tell Connor what a horrible guy, an evil vampire, his dad was. Lindsey would have every reason to paint him as such. He had cut off the guy's hand... and then there was the whole Darla thing.  
  
"Really?" Connor quirked a brow.  
  
"Oh... smooth, Angel." Cordelia sighed. "Don't you know by now? You say don't and teenager hears do. You say no, they hear yes."  
  
"I say potato, he hears poh-tah-toe?" Angel asked, with a smirk.  
  
Cordelia gave Angel the 'ha ha, very funny' look and rolled her eyes. "Things are never easy."  
  
"Who's Lindsey?!" Connor jumped at the shrillness of his own voice.  
  
Angel eyed his son. He looked slightly stressed. "Are you feeling okay?"  
  
Connor shook his head. "Who's Lindsey and why does he affect your decision making?" Connor asked, more calmly.  
  
Wesley started to answer the boy when Angel put up his hand and stopped him. "I can do it. Lindsey is... an ass."  
  
"Gah. That's more than you told me, in the whole time we spat at one another, in the office." Spike mumbled.  
  
"Shut up, Spike." Angel returned his attention to Connor. "He used to work for Wolfram and Hart. He was their golden boy, there favorite. Lilah and he would fight each other for the prize... whatever it was that week. He got out."  
  
"Shouldn't that make him a good guy?" Connor put in logically.  
  
"As good as a sociopath can get, I suppose." Angel stated thoughtfully. "There's other stuff too, of course."  
  
"I hope so." Connor gave his dad a scrutinizing look. "It has to be pretty bad, if it's keeping you from saving a little kid."  
  
Angel immediately felt guilty. Connor was right. Damn it. He was turning away a child, because he didn't like some guy? Lindsey's sarcasm and snideness was enough to condemn his... whatever this kid was to him? No. "You're right."  
  
"And the son shall surpass the father, in wisdom, as well as, intelligence." Spike patted Angel on the back. "Bright kid you got there. Does this mean we're on a hunt?"  
  
Angel groaned. "Yes."  
  
Spike grinned. "Good. Let's get the weapons then. Tranquilizers, I'm guessing."  
  
"No." Cordelia stated. Everyone stared at her and she smiled. "Not until you all pitch in and help us get the packages upstairs."  
  
Spike's jaw dropped. "Bloody hell." He stomped over to the stack and picked up a couple of bags. He turned back to Wesley and Angel. "You heard the lady. Get the bags. We got work to do!" Spike practically shot up the stairs.  
  
Cordelia grinned, widely. "Now, that's service."  
  
Angel shook his head, as he picked up an armload of boxes. "No, that's Spike itching for a hunt." Angel stood up and followed the path his childe had taken. He stopped to turn around and give Cordelia a smile. "Is it okay, if I admit I'm worried?"  
  
Cordelia nodded. "No."  
  
"Okay." Angel sighed. "I won't."  
  
TBC  
  
-Ah! Thank you all for the lovely reviews. I am having Spike and Angel withdrawal and I haven't had much time to write about it. How about them apples? Anyway, you guys are great.-  
  
--The subtitle was *looks up at subtitle*... Why did I name it that? Well, anyway, it's a 'song' by Saint Saens. If you have ever seen Fantasia 2000, a portion of the 'song' was played in the flamingo cartoon. It's a great classical piece.-- 


	3. Pigs on the Wing

I don't own Angel of BTVS. I don't own the characters in this story, except the ones that I do own. Sorry about the last chapter being so short and *ahem* pointless, but every writer has a filler chapter here and there, right? Anyway, Joss is the psycho behind all the real insanity. I just have my moments. Thanks for all the reviews and I'll try to pump up my chapters... some. Anyway, I suppose it's that time again. What time you ask? It's time to get...  
  
On with the show.  
  
::Carpe Diem- Pigs on the Wing::  
  
"This is nasty." Spike picked off a piece of stringy goo that clung to his shirt and flicked it over to the side of the alley.  
  
"Hey, you wanted to kill it." Angel pointed his sword at Spike. "I was completely willing to take care of the job. Anyway, why does it matter? I'm going to end up paying for it, either way."  
  
Spike threw his arms up in the air and groaned. "Oh, what type of torment are you putting your soul though, now? Sometimes you really get on my nerves, Angelus."  
  
Angel smiled, as he sheathed his sword. "I seem to be doing a lot of that tonight."  
  
"Yup." Spike stated, while trying to fling some extra goo off his axe.  
  
"I was being literal, Spike."  
  
"About what?" Spike dropped his axe to his side and gave Angel a tired look.  
  
Angel smiled at his childe. "About the paying. I was referring to our clothes." Angel pointed at the pile of sludge that was once a vicious demon. "That is a Feuranurl demon. Someone was bound to get messy. I suppose it was a good thing it was you, now that I think about it." Angel scratched the back of his scalp, thoughtfully.  
  
Spike was feeling kind of dumb for yelling at Angel... again. He didn't know what was wrong. Angel seemed to be ignoring the little outbursts, as if it was a stupid stage he was going through, but Spike just couldn't do that. He hadn't been this tense since Sunnydale and he just couldn't figure out the common denominators. Spike sighed and decided he should probably answer Angel, before the guy started trying to extract his thoughts. "Why is that?"  
  
"After their goop dries..." Spike pointed at Spikes shirt, skin, and hair. "It works as a bleaching substance. You could just stick your head in the leftovers and do your roots."  
  
Spike looked his Sire over, closely. "Were you being serious or was that a crack on my hair? Either way you're a sick, sick man."  
  
Angel grinned and shook his head. "You need to loosen up, boy." After watching Spike's 'I'm not amused' face for a second, Angel turned toward the dead demon and sighed.  
  
Spike scoffed at Angel. He couldn't believe the audacity of it all. Angel telling him to loosen up? "Yeah, the last time I heard that phrase come out of your mouth, there was some particularly nasty bits of horror you introduced me to."  
  
"Really? Enlighten me. I'm not exactly sure what you're referring to." Angel bent down to look the demon over more closely. It was very dead. It even smelled dead.  
  
"Let me paint a picture." Spike smiled at the memory. "I'm a fledge. Dru brings me home to parade me in front of daddy. You look me over with a sly little grin on your lips. 'Don't be afraid, acushla.' Dru's nibbling on me shoulder and you're appraising the new 'boy'. I'm standing there bent between laughing and running and all I can think is "Am I going to be dust.' Then you smile... kind of sweet like. Tell me to loosen up. You lead me through the house and open a door. You push me inside and horror of horrors, there sits Darla. She's talking to Penn, who's lounging in a chair. Apparently, he was home for a little while and you wanted them to both meet me at the same time." Spike watched Angel closely. He wasn't moving. "I didn't like me step-mum... or me brother for that matter. But I suppose you were an all right character and, of course, I had Dru for when you weren't."  
  
Angel shook his head. "You were so much like me." Angel heard the scoff before it ever left Spike's mouth. "I not being narcissistic, Spike." Angel turned on his heals and looked at his childe. "You were your Sire's favorite, headstrong, strong from the beginning, you hated your grand- sire... great grand-sire, whatever."  
  
"Hey, Angel, how do you explain the natural draw of you and me being Sire and Childe. I mean, in all ways that mattered, you picked up where Dru couldn't handle it."  
  
"I'm your Sire by default." Angel shrugged. "Why does it matter, now?"  
  
"I don't know." Spike scratched his head and sighed. "It's just that the slayer never asked me and you know she was a nosy bird. I thought somebody would be the least bit curious why I call you Sire, when Dru was the one that changed me."  
  
Angel shrugged again. "Everyone assumes I made you, usually. I guess you could set them straight if it matters."  
  
"It doesn't." Spike bent down beside Angel and hefted the demon over his shoulder. "You might want to put down garbage bags, or something. Unless you prefer tye-dyed seats."  
  
Angel got up from his squatting position and hurried to the car. He laid down some garbage bags and tried o help Spike put the demon in the back. Spike had just pushed his hands away and plopped the demon back there. Angel walked around to his side of the car and slid into the seat, while starting the ignition. Spike got in next and they were off. After driving in silence for a mile or so Angel started getting fidgety. Something was wrong. Spike was being sullen and he wasn't feeling all that bad. "What's wrong?"  
  
"Nothing, wifey. Just go back to your brooding and leave me to mine." Spike looked out at the sky and watched the stars twinkle.  
  
"I'm *not* brooding." Angel sighed.  
  
"Do you think we'll find the kid? He's most likely dead, you know."  
  
Angel kept his eyes on the road. "I don't know. We usually find them, but sometimes..."  
  
"Sometimes they're dead and gone."  
  
"Everybody dies, Spike. We, as vampires, should know that better than anyone." Angel looked over at his childe, who was shaking his head.  
  
Spike looked over and caught Angel's gaze. "Not everybody has to die so soon. We, as vampires, should know *that* better than anyone." Spike paused. "Keep your eyes on the road, Pet. We'll end up killing someone, before the night is through. With you driving like that, I'm surprised someone's not dead already."  
  
Angel kept his eyes on the road for the rest of the trip home, but his mind was somewhere else. It was all right, though. He had been driving so much in the last few years that it was a second nature to him, by now. When they got back to the hotel, Angel looked between the demon in his front seat and the demon in his backseat. He wasn't sure he wanted to deal with either one of them, at the moment. "I'll have Gunn get it later. You can go ahead and get changed and we'll head out, into the sewers."  
  
"I'm going to go get clean, so I can get dirty?" Spike smiled weakly, when Angel nodded. "Sounds 'bout right."  
  
Angel shook his head and got out of the car. He couldn't figure out what was up with Spike. The boy had just gotten so morose, lately. Angel sighed, as he walked in the front door of the Hyperion and stopped dead in his tracks. There he was leaning against the front desk, in a nice pair of inexpensive dress pants and a button up shirt, which could only be described as periwinkle, and Angel's first thought was that all he wanted to do was break to break the guy in half. "Hello, Lindsey."  
  
Lindsey turned around and gave Angel a toothy grin. "Hello, Angel. I was just talking to your son, a moment ago. He went to check on his cat, but he should be back soon. He had loads of interesting stories to tell, while you were away."  
  
Angel crossed the room until he was only inches from the man. "I truly hope they're not that interesting. Wouldn't want you staying past your welcome." Angel smirked, coldly. "Oh, wait. That happened the moment you walked in the room."  
  
Lindsey's smile widened. "Same old Angel. Thanks for the sign you left on my car, by the way. A pretty little brunette cop pulled me over, 'for speeding', and we had a really nice conversation."  
  
"Hope he didn't fine you for too awful much." Angel offered his fake sympathy.  
  
"I wrote you out a bill and left it on your desk, in the office." Lindsey looked past Angel and caught a glimpse of a dark figure, in the doorway. "Who's the shadow?"  
  
"He's the guy who knows what darkness lies in the hearts of men." The 'shadow' stepped out of the doorway and walked into the light. "I'm Spike." Spike took a few steps and stopped to look Lindsey up and down. "You're Lindsey?"  
  
Lindsey nodded and waited patiently, until Spike was done with his inspection.  
  
Spike grunted and glanced over at his Sire. "This is the guy who gets your guff up? Not much to him, is there?"  
  
Lindsey half-smirked at the vampire and shook his head. "Spike? That would make you William the bloody, favored childe to Angelus." Lindsey spared Angel and quick grin. "What happened Angel? Where all of the good vagabonds taken?"  
  
Spike stroked his chin, thoughtfully, and let a small smile break loose. "You're all right."  
  
Lindsey gave a small bow and smiled. "Thank you. Coming from a Master Vampire, such as your self, it is a true honor."  
  
Spike laughed, out loud. "Don't push it."  
  
Angel grunted. He didn't like that Lindsey was getting along with Spike, and apparently Connor, so well. The guy was annoying. Couldn't they see that? Not to mention the fact, that he's the bad guy.  
  
"So, he still does that brood thing, where he cuts off the rest of the world and goes to spend time in his own little hell?" Lindsey asked Spike, curiously.  
  
"Yup. He's done it ever since I've known him. Some people think it started when he got his soul, but I know better. He used to spend hours staring into fires and thinking of knew ways to torment the mass population, without getting dusted." Spike informed his knew acquaintance. "Now, he just torments himself. Stupid pouf. Don't know why I hang around."  
  
Angel looked up at the two men and found them starring at him. "What?"  
  
Lindsey smiled. "We were just talking about what an ass you are."  
  
Angel sighed and looked up at the ceiling. "You guys are getting a kick out of this aren't you?"  
  
Lindsey bent in toward Spike and whispered. "You guys have ghosts?"  
  
"No." Spike whispered back. "But we have super hearing, so your whispers aren't doing you any good."  
  
"I know." Lindsey answered, still in a hushed tone. "It was for the effect."  
  
"Oh." Spike nodded, as he drew back away from the young man. "You just may be a loon."  
  
Lindsey smiled and nodded. He wasn't about to dismiss the idea. He was standing in the lobby of the Hyperion, after all. He was conversing with Angel and his family of misfits. Wouldn't the 'normal' population find this all a little absurd? "Actually, I probably am a little... abnormal, but that's not why I'm here." Or it is, but that's not the point, Lindsey thought to himself. "I suppose my sister came in here earlier tonight."  
  
"Last night. It's..." Angel pointed up at the clock on the wall. "...well past midnight."  
  
"You will argue over anything won't you?" Lindsey sighed.  
  
Spike grinned. "It's part of the curse. See, he can never be truly happy right? Well, have you ever heard the saying 'If mom's not happy, nobody's happy'? That happiness clause really pisses me off."  
  
"That happiness clause is no longer in effect." Angel reminded his childe.  
  
"Really?" It was Lindsey's first time hearing about that little tidbit of information.  
  
"Yeah and I think I'll indulge myself. I'm pretty sure I could get a big happy off of sucking you dry." Angel smiled wickedly at the ex-lawyer and almost patted himself on the back, when he saw the young man shiver. It probably was just revulsion, but it was still a reaction.  
  
"God, how I would love to say something extremely naughty, right now." Spike laughed.  
  
"What's stopping you?" Lindsey asked, as he sneered at the older vampire. "You don't seem like the kind of guy that would censor his conversations."  
  
"Not on a usual basis." Spike admitted, as he waved toward the stairs. The other two men looked and saw Connor walking down toward them, holding his cat. "But I don't really want to sway Junior's opinion of his dad. It's an easy thing to do." Spike muttered to Lindsey.  
  
Connor reached Spike's side and looked between his dad and Lindsey. "Are you playing nice?"  
  
"As nice as can be expected." Lindsey told the young man. "I haven't been bitten, yet."  
  
"Neither have I." Angel nodded his assurance.  
  
Connor rolled his eyes and looked over at Spike. "Did you redye your hair?"  
  
Spike ran his fingers through his hair and shook his head. "I'll be right back. I gotta' go get this stuff offa' me." Spike turned and headed up the stairs, two at a time.  
  
Connor just shrugged and looked back to his dad. "So, did you find the boy?"  
  
Angel shook his head and glanced over at Lindsey. "So, it's your nephew?" Lindsey nodded and Angel sighed. "Why would your sister let the woman take her son out on a full moon day? She had to know what a risk it was."  
  
Lindsey nodded in agreement. He had told Amelie what a fool she was to let Andy go out with any of her friends. She hung out with many untrustworthy people that had no business taking care of the boy. Especially, now that he was living so close to her. When she was at work, he was perfectly willing to watch the kid. He was a smart little boy and very laid back. "She's an idiot."  
  
"But she does know the risk factors that come with being around werewolves? They're very unpredictable and wild. You can't control them and it's very hard to contain them. We're going to have to use a lot of force and there is no telling whether we will be able to put it down without hurting it." Angel walked over to his weapon cabinet and pulled out a dart gun.  
  
"You can't hurt him, Angel!" Connor ran over and grabbed his dad's gun. "He's small for his age. Lindsey said! And it's not his fault he was scratched, in the first place."  
  
Lindsey walked over to Connor and placed a hand on his shoulder. "He'll be fine Connor. His mom's had to shoot him, once before. Amelie isn't very responsible, but she's prepared to do what she has to, in most cases. We have to be prepared to do whatever is necessary, also. We owe Andy that much."  
  
Connor smiled at Lindsey and nodded. He handed his dad the gun and stepped back. "He's a lucky kid, to have an uncle that cares about him so much."  
  
Lindsey frowned slightly and stared down at his feet. "Yeah."  
  
"Wait." Angel stopped the two and grunted. "The kid is the werewolf?"  
  
"Well, I feel so clean, I'm squeaky." Spike was stomping down the stairs and ruffling his curls. "My hair is under a lot of stress right now. I'm actually scared to gel it. It may just decide to give up and fall out of my head. I start looking like the Master and I'll stake myself."  
  
Angel glanced over at Spike, a look of frustration etched across his face. "Andy's the werewolf."  
  
"Oh. Does that make things easier or harder?" Spike had never fought a baby werewolf before. "Are we still aloud to tranquilize it?"  
  
"Yes." Lindsey rubbed his hand across his face and groaned.  
  
"Hey, guys! We gotta' get down to the zoo, now!" Gunn rushed in the door, holding a ball bat. "I just heard on the radio that there was a wild bear loose in the wild boar display. Sounds kinda' werewolfish to me." Gunn saw Lindsey and frowned. "Hello."  
  
Lindsey nodded at the man, as he grabbed up a hand full of darts and pushed them into Angel's hands. "Your car or mine?"  
  
TBC  
  
-Thanks for the wonderful reviews. I've been gone most of the weekend and I'm so glad to be back at the computer. Anyway, you guys are the bestest.-  
  
--The subtitle was called Pigs on the Wing. It's a Pink Floyd song. Have I mention that they are my zen?-- 


	4. Bloodflowers

I don't own BTVS or Angel and if I did, do you think I would share? Would you? I don't own the characters in this story except for a select few and they really don't matter that much. Egad! Apparently, I'm making spelling errors, now. (Yes, I went back and saw my gaffes. I'll try better. Spelling mistakes can be distracting. I know from experience.) Oh, yeah and guys... No Lindsey slash. (Et tu, Cancerious?) For lack of a better phrase, Angel was being a dick. Plus, Angel wasn't trying to make a double entendre. I was. I just made Spike have a dirty mind for a second. I found it amusing. Just try to trust me. I may tick you off every now and then, but I'll try not to disgust you. Okay, thanks for putting up with neurotic little me, guys. Anyway, Joss is boss and I am... high? Nope, but it rhymes. Hey, give me a break. I'm trying to stay original. Okay, love and kisses to all of you reviewers out there and...  
  
On with the show.  
  
::Carpe Diem- Bloodflowers::  
  
Spike had been questioning Lindsey the whole time they had been on the road. "She's your sister?" He pushed the head of the little hula girl on Lindsey's dashboard and watched it sway. "She doesn't resemble you, at all."  
  
"No. I guess she doesn't." Lindsey glanced over at Spike and quirked an eyebrow. "You like Kai Laia?"  
  
"What's that? Some type of fish?" Spike pushed the girl again and watched her hips bob. "Angel needs one of these."  
  
"Kai Laia is her name." Lindsey flicked his right hand at the wobbling doll. "Andy gave her to me for Father's Day, last year." Lindsey put his hand back on the wheel and sighed. "His own dad gave him up when he was born. He was a jerk for leaving them. Amelie has been doing her best, I suppose, but Andy needs a male figure around."  
  
"Yup. One with a leash." Spike caught the frown Lindsey had taken on and shrugged. He really didn't know Lindsey well enough, to care whether he was making him upset or mad. In all honesty, he had only ridden with Lindsey to 'keep an eye on him and his evil hand'. Angel was a bitch, he decided. "What's this about an evil hand."  
  
"It's a long story." Lindsey slowed down to a stop and waited for the light to change. He couldn't believe the situation he was in. Two weeks in LA and he already needed Angel's help. He flexed his wrists and sighed. On another note, his old truck was sputtering again. He would have to get that checked. Damn.  
  
"Well, I have the time. If you don't have the breath, then give me the footnotes." Spike insisted. "Come on, now. Gimme a good story." Spike pointed up at the traffic light. "Pay attention or you'll miss it, altogether."  
  
A loud beep from behind made Lindsey jerk his head up and step, a little too hard, on the gas. He could only assume what special words Angel was calling him back there. "Angel and me, plus sharp pointy objects, equals Star Wars. Good enough story?"  
  
"Riveting." Spike rolled his eyes. "That the best you can do?"  
  
"On short notice. Maybe, I'll write my memoirs and you can have first peak. Of course, mine wouldn't be half as interesting as yours." Lindsey thought, aloud.  
  
"Well, he never said 'Spike, I am your father.' It was always a given, in my case. And maybe there wasn't as much blood or guts, but that's not what makes a good story." Spike checked the rear view mirror and tried to find his sire's, or at least Gunn's, face in the little piece of reflective plastic.  
  
"You have no idea what you're talking about." Lindsey laughed. Was this guy for real? Had Angel really not told Spike anything about him? He figured he wouldn't have been a main topic, but at least he could have been a... subtopic.  
  
"Sure I do." Spike insisted. "Contrary to popular belief, I've read loads of great books and very few of them were centered on killing and torture."  
  
"I sold my soul to a firm called Wolfram and Hart. In the war of darkness and light, I fought on the side of darkness and won many battles. Blood, guts, and gore have no effect on me, anymore. Most of my clients were demons of some sort. One guy, a Lirnchurl demon, actually tried to pay me with dog entrails."  
  
"Then he was trying to stiff you. The viscera aren't worth anything, unless they come from puppies." Spike looked over at Lindsey, who was now a little paler. ""No effect, eh?" Spike shook his head. "They are used in a spell that gives you your heart's desire. That's why Lirnchurl demons pay with parts. They can't use cash, but they can use magic."  
  
"Oh." Lindsey turned the truck into the zoo entrance and pulled into the yard. "Well, I guess we should get in there." Lindsey waited until he saw Angel and Gunn pull up next to him and step out of the car, closing the doors behind them. He stepped out of his truck and Spike came around the back.  
  
Spike threw Angel a look and nodded over at Lindsey. "I think we should leave him here."  
  
Lindsey frowned at Spike. "I'll be fine. I might even be able to help with Andy." Lindsey's head jerked, when a loud howl broke the silence of the night.  
  
Angel shook his head. "I think Spike's right. You may get overly protective or something." Angel kept a straight face, as Lindsey glared at him. "I believe it's in the best interest of your nephew." Angel turned on his heel and made his way to the large gate that protected the outside world from the zoo or, in this case, the zoo from the outside world.  
  
"He threw out the trump and you know it. Just wait here for us and we'll have him back to you, as soon as you can say furry faced nephew." Spike tried to assure Lindsey. He patted the man's shoulder, in sympathetic gesture and watched his Sire size up the wall. After Angel scaled the barricade Spike leaned into toward Lindsey and whispered low enough that the older vampire wouldn't hear. "If it were me or Connor, we would be very reluctant to send Angelus in there. Try not to fret." Spike followed in the footsteps of his Sire and scaled the wall with an easy grace. When he landed on the other side he came face to face with a slightly perturbed Angel.  
  
"What took you so long?" Angel's nose flared, as he tried to hide his disdain toward Lindsey. It was impossible. "Were you re-reassuring your new bestest friend?"  
  
Spike's mouth dropped open, in shock. "You're a psycho." Spike tried to push past Angel, so he could get to the main gate and let Gunn in, but Angel grabbed his arm and held him in place. "Could we *not* do this?" Spike tried not to sound like an annoyed child, but it really was no use. In all the technical ways, he was an annoyed 'child'.  
  
"If I didn't know any better I would say that you were already making ties with that..." Angel thought of a word that would best suit Lindsey. "...monster." It didn't really describe the man on the other side of the wall. It was just all he could come up with.  
  
"If I didn't know better, I would say that you actually cared! Since when do you really care, Angel?" Spike pushed Angel's arm off of him and stared up into eyes. "If we're going to do this now, we may as well do it right. You're obsessive."  
  
"This is what you didn't want to do? Throw insults at me? Well, to tell the truth, I'm not too fond of it either." Angel turned to walk away, but Spike grabbed him in very much the same way as he had grabbed Spike, only moments before.  
  
"You're also possessive, oppressive, depressive, and suppressive." Spike's voice was calm, but everything else about him was animated. His hands moved, as he talked and his eyes seemed bluer than ever.  
  
Angel gave a small smile and shook his head. "You're not a poet anymore, but you can still rhyme."  
  
Spike shook his head. "Damn it, Angelus! That's what I'm talking about! You know that I never could rhyme."  
  
"Now, you're upset that I gave you credit for something as unimportant as that?" Angel was thoroughly confused.  
  
"Maybe you think it was unimportant, but it mattered to me. It was a part of me. If you never drank Irish whiskey or listened to those horrible Gaelic singers anymore, don't you think you would have felt some sort of loss?"  
  
"So, you want to write poetry again?" Angel didn't know what to do to make Spike *not* angry, again. He really wasn't sure what he had done to make him angry in the first place, but he was positive that it was his fault, some how.  
  
Spike was down-right disgusted. Was Angel listening to him, at all? "You are a very daft man, with a very thick skull. Please, don't talk to me, until you, at least, pretend that you have filled it with a brain." Spike heard a noise from behind him and looked around to find Gunn making his way up the fence. Spike headed toward the gate, in a jog. Gunn was half way over the entryway, trying not to get impaled by the spikes up top. "Any luck?"  
  
"Yes. No thanks to you and him!" Gunn pulled his left leg over the spiked area and got caught. "Shit." He tugged his leg and lost his hold on the gate, making him tumble to the ground, in a heap. Gunn lay there catching his breath and stared up at Spike. "Is it... bad?" He asked in between deep breaths.  
  
"It's not bleeding." Spike said, as he examined the leg that had gotten caught on the gate.  
  
"No. I meant the rip. These are new pants." Gunn sat up slowly and glanced down at his pant leg. "Well, there goes my paycheck."  
  
"Why did you wear new pants to work?" Spike paused a moment, in thought. "More over, why do you get paid and I don't!?"  
  
Gunn pushed himself up from the ground and dusted off the back of his pants. "Why would you have to get paid Spike? Your blood daddy provides everything for you."  
  
"Blood daddy?" Spike was outraged. "What is that supposed to mean?"  
  
"Well, isn't that what a Sire is?" Gunn tried to look as educated on the subject as he could, but without Wesley to back him up, he knew he was flying blind. He knew nothing of the childe/sire relationship. He knew that vampires were killing machines, on average, and that you had to kill them before they could kill you. That was the natural order of things. Everything about Spike and Angel practically shouted unnatural, and he figured if he could keep up with whatever curse or prophecy came out about them each week, he would be doing all right.  
  
Spike narrowed his gaze at the man and sniffed the air. He turned his head to the side and saw the outline of his sire in the shadows. "Angel wants our help. Let's go."  
  
"Wait. You can read his mind?" Now, that would be neat, Gunn decided, as he pulled out his tranquilizer gun.  
  
"I can read his stance. He thinks we're wasting time... which we are. He can smell the blood in the air. I can smell it, so I know he can. We're close." Another howl broke the night air. "Come on." Spike headed over toward Angel and sighed when the older vampire took a cautious step out of the shadows. He looked tired, but not angry. "Smell it?"  
  
"Blood." It was all he said. It was all he needed to say. Spike knew that there would be carnage around the next bend, just as well as he did. Gunn had to have figured it out by the looks of it. The man was definitely a little less than eager to do this job. Angel reached behind his back and pulled a gun out from under his coat. He handed it to Spike and nodded. "I'll get him to attack me and you shoot. Gunn you stay here, in case he gets past us."  
  
"What if I miss the wolf and hit you?" Spike watched the smile flitter across Angel's features, when he looked back at him.  
  
"You wouldn't miss, unless you were trying. You're better than that."  
  
"What if I miss?" Spike gave his best look of impertinence and Angel had to laugh.  
  
"Just remember who feeds you." Angel said jokingly, as he walked away from Gunn and toward the smell of blood.  
  
"Yeah, I can't seem to forget." Spike muttered under his breath.  
  
"What's that?" Angel asked, as he looked back at his childe.  
  
"Nothing." Spike loaded the weapon and stalked after his sire.  
  
Angel stopped near the entrance to the gazelles, which were crying out in strangled voices. "He must be a fast little thing." Angel gave Spike a mock- pleading look. "Please don't miss."  
  
"You should trust me, Sire." Spike cocked his gun and cocked a grin. "I always get my man... or dog, whatever the case may be."  
  
Angel ran up to the wall of the gazelle pen and hopped down to the leveled off grazing area. He landed on both feet, crouched low to the ground. He scanned the area and sniffed the air. He couldn't sense any living thing, let alone a wild werewolf child and a pack of frightened gazelle. He got up from his crouching position and walked the perimeter of the pen. There were dead carcasses scattered around the area, but nothing more that he could see.  
  
Then, he saw a movement out of the corner of his eye. He stalked toward the movement, in the shadows, and came up behind the darkened figure. He pounced with all of his force and knocked it off of its feet. It grunted and went down with a thud. The figure squirmed and growled, causing Angel to have to tighten his grip to an uncomfortable amount of pressure. The thing would be crushed if they continued like this. "Stop moving or I'll crush you." The figure's movement fell still and Angel had enough time to realize that the *thing* was really a person... or something that resembled a person. It wore clothes. "Who are you?"  
  
"Mis..." The person gasped out. "Missy. I'm... Missy. I didn't... kill them. I... swear." The women frantically waved at the dead gazelle and then gripped the cold, damp ground in horror.  
  
Angel let his grip loosen. "Missy? You were the one who took Andy out." He got up from the ground and helped the woman up. She was about five foot ten and one hundred and fifty pounds. She wasn't a heavy woman, definitely no hard task for Angel, but she had gone rigid with shock, therefore very awkward to handle. "I didn't mean to hurt you. I thought you might have been Andy."  
  
"You were going to tackle a werewolf?" The woman asked doubtfully, while she tried to let some of the tension slide out of her body. She reached her right hand over her left shoulder and started massaging away the tightness she found there.  
  
"I have someone up top, there." Angel pointed up to where Spike sat, leaning precariously over the edge of the wall. "He has tranquilizer darts. I was bait."  
  
The woman stared at Angel and took in the details of his person. Handsome man, smooth faced, wearing an expensive pair of shoes. "You're not a hunter, are you?" Missy reasserted herself and shook her head. "That wasn't meant to be a question. You're not a hunter."  
  
Angel shook his head. "Not technically. We were hired to bring him home, by Andy's mom. That's what we intend on doing."  
  
Missy nodded, solemnly. "I screwed up and other people are having to pay for it."  
  
Angel shook his head and glanced up at Spike... who was no longer on the wall. Spike really wasn't the most reliable man to have backing you up. A loud howl/yelp and a tug on his shirtsleeve broke Angel's ponderings. He looked over at the woman, who was frantic.  
  
"That's him. That's Andy. He's being hurt. Help him, please."  
  
Angel reacted immediately. His thoughts, naturally, turned to Spike and his stream of bad luck. He had to get up that wall. As soon as he had thought it, it was so. He had cleared the wall, with little more than a jump. What he saw when he got to the top wasn't really that shocking. Spike was sprawled out on his back gripping his stomach with one hand and clutching the used dart gun in the other hand. Angel hurried over to his battered childe and leaned down, over him. "You all right?"  
  
"I got him twice before he got me." Spike said with a shaky smile.  
  
"That's not what I asked." Angel pulled Spike's hand away from his abdomen and pulled at his shirt.  
  
"If you wanted a peak, all you had to do was ask." Spike coughed and pushed at Angel's hands. "I would of said no, but at least you would have asked." Spike pushed himself up into a sitting position and grunted. "He just knocked the air out of me, is all." Spike shook his head, roughly. "There musta' been three of 'em."  
  
"Three werewolves?" Angel asked. He didn't even bother hiding his confusion.  
  
"Keep up, Angel. Do you think I would have gotten away without a scratch, if it had been three werewolves? They were men. They had a big sack that smelled like... bloody, puppy breath." Spike jumped up to his feet and glanced behind Angel. "Who's the bint?"  
  
Angel looked around and saw Missy quietly making her way toward them. "Spike, meet Missy."  
  
Spike glared at the woman and took a few threatening steps her way. "It's your fault we're out here."  
  
"I figured Andy needed a day out in the sunlight. Time got away from us and..." Missy took a deep breath and let it out in a hiss. "... he got away from me."  
  
"They're all the same, Angel." Spike nodded slowly, as he stalked toward the woman. "Careless and stupid. That's all that you people are. Your kind disgusts me more than my own kind. That says a lot... Missy." Spike emphasized both syllables, as he stared the woman down. "Your little pup is now in a doggy bag. Who knows what these people will do with him, if we don't get him away from them."  
  
"Well, they can't do anything, now. They'll have to wait for tomorrow. The suns about to come up." Angel watched the sky and then looked back at his childe, who was still glaring at the object of his annoyance. "Spike, did you hear me? The sun's going to be up in ten minutes. We have to get to the car."  
  
Spike just snorted. "You make me ill."  
  
Angel had stood by and watched the woman turn pale, but he was not going to watch her crumble. "That's enough, boy."  
  
Spike shrugged and turned his back on her. "She's not worth a sunburn." He stalked away from the pair and headed to were Gunn was supposed to be standing watch.  
  
Angel made a helpless gesture to the woman and then just settled on shrugging. "I'm not going to ask you to excuse his comments. You were very careless. I do believe that you care about Andy, though, and if you know anything that would help us, we would appreciate it."  
  
Missy nodded. "I think I may know something that could be of use."  
  
"Good." Angel said with a small smile. He waited a couple of silent moment and finally grew impatient. "What is it?"  
  
"You should probably check up on his dad. He's a dangerous man. He deals in Andy's kind. Not just that. He also messes around with magicks and demons. We're all afraid of him. Not Andy, mind you, but he's just a kid." Missy took a deep cleansing breath. "He's a little shorter than me, medium length sable hair, if he hasn't cut or colored it, and his name is Lindsey."  
  
Angel cocked an eyebrow and nodded. "Of course, it is."  
  
TBC  
  
-I am so very sorry for taking so long in getting this out. I have had my cousin in town and she is my closest friend. We had a lot of catching up to do. She should be going home next Wednesday, so my writing speed should get back to normal around that time. Thanks for being so forgiving and faithful. I'll try not to let you down.-  
  
--Another note- I'm sure that you all have questions about what I'm going to do with the story. That's good! I wanted you to. Just know that I don't expect for there to be any Lindsey slash, or even any Lindsey undertones. I love the man with all of my heart, but I'd rather be tortured a million ways from Sunday, before I let him take Angel or Spike away from me.--  
  
---The subtitle was Bloodflowers. It's a song (and CD) by The Cure, who I love to pieces.--- 


	5. TipToe Through the Tulips

I don't own BTVS or Angel, although I would sell some of my major organs to get them. I don't own any of the people in this story, but I will write about them until my major organs start giving up on me. Okay, thanks for the lovely reviews. I really appreciate them. I also have a message for one of you sweet people... *puts on an evil Bond character voice* Tariq, darlink, if you don't trust me by now, I suppose you never will. Please, understand I cannot write Buffy into the story. She will not fit into my intricate web of wonder. *clears throat and speaks plainly* Sorry, dear. It is beyond me. That is one area where my muse has full range. Anyway, Joss is the greatest of the greats and I am a puny little baby author, but you guys make me feel good about it, so thanks. Anyway, I'm going to say it now...  
  
On with the show.  
  
::Carpe Diem- Tip-Toe Through The Tulips::  
  
"Angel, I already told you what he told me to say." Gunn tried to keep his voice calm, as he ran through the list once more. "He actually told me, to tell you, that you are a..." Gunn thought a moment and shrugged.  
  
"An ass?" Angel asked, amusedly. What else would Spike call him?  
  
"That's right. He said you were an ass for taking the side of a woman, instead of him. So, he decided to ride back to the hotel with Lindsey. That was all he had to say." Gunn sat quietly for a moment and shrugged again. "I think you both are having issues that run deeper than any of us can swim."  
  
Angel leaned his head back on the seat of his car and looked out the tinted window. "Spike is being weird. You're speaking in metaphors. I don't know whether I can trust Lindsey or not." Angel took an unneeded breath and let it out in a sigh. "I think I'm going crazy."  
  
"Well, let me play doctor." Gunn thought that statement over and looked at his boss. "Not in a gross way."  
  
Angel gave Gunn a wry grin and nodded. "So, Doc, what's your diagnosis?"  
  
"Well, Spike's always been weird, so he's just being weirder. Maybe he needs a hobby or something to get him out of the hotel." Gunn put the idea forward, thoughtfully.  
  
"You just want to get him away from you, for awhile." Angel smirked. "You could be right, though."  
  
"Okay, one down. With all the free time that we've had since the apocalypse, I've been reading more. So, we'll put the metaphors off on that. Cool with you?"  
  
Angel silently nodded his agreement and stared out the window, at the hotel, once more.  
  
"You've never been able to trust Lindsey, so why should you do it now? If Spike wants to trust him, then let him do it. Shoot, maybe he's right. He's pretty perceptive." Gunn grabbed his dart gun out of the back seat and pulled it up front, with him. "So, did Spike mention what it was that attacked him?"  
  
"He thinks they were men. Said they had a big bag and he was pretty sure they had Andy in it. He said it smelled like blood and puppy." Angel looked at his nails and wrinkled his nose. Cordelia would probably point the dirt out before he made it up to his bathroom. "We should get inside."  
  
"Yeah." Gunn nodded. "You want me to drive up to the back or you going to 'Spike' it?"  
  
"Spike it?" Angel looked over and caught the goofy smile on Gunn's face.  
  
"Yeah." Gunn said with a laugh. "That's a phrase Connor coined the other night. Me, him, and Wes got a good laugh out of it. He was talking about how you usually just stick to shadows during the day and Spike takes a big blanket around, so he can run through the sunlight. He 'Spikes it'."  
  
Angel nodded. "He prefers to tempt fate."  
  
"Well, you know your fate already, so you wouldn't really be tempting it, would you?" Gunn couldn't stand this. Angel had always been solemn, but he never was so blatant about it. "Try it on for size. There's a blanket in the back seat and Spike should get a kick out of it."  
  
Angel gave Gunn a small grin. "And I'm sure you would find it amusing."  
  
"Yeah." Gunn agreed. Angel started to reach for the blanket and Gunn stilled his arm. "Hey. What name do you have your bank account under? You know, just in case I'm wrong about the whole fate thing."  
  
Angel grinned and punched Gunn in the shoulder. "It's under Mr. Angel. You can figure the rest out on your own."  
  
"At least tell me whether Angel is the first or last name." Gunn mock pleaded.  
  
"Nope." Angel said, as he pulled the cover over his head and slipped out of the car, toward the Hyperion. He broke out into a jog, when he felt his hands start to singe. He ducked under the shade of the stoop and sighed. "Well, that was pretty... different." He muttered aloud.  
  
"Fun, huh?"  
  
Angel looked over to the darker side of the stoop and saw Spike scrunched in the corner. He had a blanket across his legs and a cigarette dangling from his fingertips. Why are you sitting there?"  
  
"You don't let me smoke inside." Spike smiled at the cover Angel still had clutched around his face. "You look like a nun."  
  
Angel looked down at the blanket and rolled his eyes. "I always end up looking like an idiot, don't I?"  
  
Spike nodded. "An idiot with nicely coifed hair." Spike pointed at the empty space next to him. There was enough shade for both of them.  
  
"Well, at least there is that." Angel shrugged and took the proffered seat, letting his blanket fall to his side. "Linsey leave?"  
  
Spike nodded. "I told him what happened and he got real quiet like." Spike waved his cigarette, as he spoke. "That kid is important to him. He makes it obvious that he cares about dog-boy, even when he's trying to pretend he doesn't care."  
  
"It's his son." Angel watched Spike's face, as he took a long drag from the cigarette and exhale the smoke.  
  
"Might as well be." He said through the smoke. "Apparently, he's the only male influence in the boy's life."  
  
"Spike, it *is* his son. Biologically... by blood, his very own son." Angel took in the way his childe pursed his lips, thoughtfully, and then shook his head.  
  
"Of course, he is." Spike took another drag off of his cigarette. "Doesn't really surprise me. He was pretty pissed that you let the pup get away."  
  
"I let him get away?" Angel asked, slightly annoyed.  
  
"Yes, you let him get away. Did you think I would let the guy think I let the boy go, when he was nice enough to take me home, in broad daylight? I wasn't fond of the idea of being littered down the highway, you know." Spike tossed the cigarette butt down and stomped it out, with the heel of his Doc Marten. "I'm kind of hungry."  
  
"Well, we can get something when we go inside. I had the refrigerator restocked." Angel got up from his seat and reached down, to help Spike up.  
  
Spike took the offer and groaned. "I'm not talking pig's blood, Angel. I want... waffles. I want waffles, with lots of syrup." Spike dusted off the back of his pants. "Do we have waffles?"  
  
Angel scrunched up his nose and shook his head. "I don't think so."  
  
"Well, I guess we'll have to tell Connor to go get some." Spike draped his blanket across his head and opened the door. "Where's Gunn taking your car?"  
  
Angel covered up with his blanket and followed his childe, through the doorway. "He's going to go home and sleep, just like any good insomniac would do at seven o'clock in the morning." Angel dropped his blanket, when they got into the lobby. He was tired and hungry, so he didn't bother to pick it up. He had perspective... food and then bed. It seemed like a sound plan. Now, if he could only pull it off.  
  
"What are you doing, crazy?" Spike pointed at the discarded cover. "You drop it there and Cordelia will pick it up. Then, she'll put it somewhere, where we will never find it again." Spike walked over to the blanket and swooped it up. "And you call me a slob." He went over to the closet and threw the two covers down in the floor. He kicked them to the back and then fought to close the door, securely.  
  
"Having problems?" Angel watched Spike wrestle with the old wood door. So much for Master Vampire Spike, he thought, with a chuckle. "You'll never get it done if you try to mush 'em in, like that."  
  
Spike used his shoulder to push and then stepped back, with a sigh. "I'm pretty sure that I've done enough mushing over the years, to be considered a bleedin' Ph.D. it the mushing field, kay? Let me handle this. Alls I gotta do, is to get the stupid clicker to click." Spike went back to his task.  
  
Suddenly, Angel's perspective changed. Entertainment, food, and then bed. "You sound more British, when you're upset."  
  
"Ta, Love." Spike banged the door and it popped... his shoulder, that is. "Bloody, wanking, bastard, piece of shit!" Spike rubbed his hurt shoulder and frowned.  
  
"Now, that was very British." Angel smiled at the scowl that got him. "Kind of in an 'Are You Being Served?' way." Angel thought a moment. "Do they even cuss on that show?"  
  
Spike shook his head. "How should I know? I never paid that much attention. I'm a Python man, myself." Spike looked at the door and snorted. "I hate it."  
  
"Are you being weak or impatient, Spike?" Angel walked over to his childe and waited to be given a chance on the door.  
  
Spike saw him standing there and waved his arm, at the door. "Be my guest."  
  
Angel took the extra step, toward the door and opened it. He picked the blankets up and placed them on the top shelf, instead. Then, he closed the door. Well, at least, he tried to close the door. It didn't click. "Well, this is frustrating."  
  
"You're telling me!" Spike tossed his arms up in the air and grunted.  
  
Angel watched his childe's dramatic display and quirked a brow. "It really doesn't matter that much, Spike. It's not like the boogie man is going to jump out of it, if we don't close it."  
  
"Ah!" Spike pointed an accusing finger at his Sire. "Knock on wood, you silly Mick, or you have jinxed the hell out of us. Mark my words."  
  
Angel laughed. "You don't really believe in the boogie man, do you? Isn't that something you stop believing in, when you are about..." Angel put his hand out from his hip and went up and down about an inch, each way. "...this high?"  
  
"Yeah." Spike agreed. "I stopped believing in him about the time I stopped believing in stories about vampires."  
  
"I still don't believe most of those stories." Angel grinned and shrugged.  
  
"You *were* most of those stories you stupid poof. Shows how much I listened." Spike punched Angel in the shoulder and grimaced. "Ouch!"  
  
"Ouch? Your shoulder isn't better, yet?" Angel pulled Spike over and pushed around his shoulder blade. "Have you been feeding?"  
  
Spike winced, several times. "What are you doing? Mother henning me? Are you trying to make my froofy, pet?"  
  
Angel pushed Spike away and shook his head. "You can have your waffles, but they are being covered in O-negative. You should be feeding, more."  
  
Spike rolled his eyes. "It's not that I don't want to, Dr. Spock. I'll get me 'bloody' waffles, all right." Spike gave Angel an impertinent grin. "It's just that... I haven't been hungry. Not feeding hungry, by any means. When you feel totally gorged out on blood, try to take another bag. Just one more."  
  
"Okay." Angel nodded. "You should still check that out. If the bruising doesn't go down, tell me." Angel turned back toward the closet and charged it with his shoulder. It broke... the door, that is. It cracked and fell right off of its hinges. "So much for good workmanship." Angel looked at down at the door, which lay half in the closet and half out. "I'm hungry."  
  
"Well, let's leave it and get you a blood bag. Me, I'm just bored. I'll probably just watch you eat and fall asleep." Spike followed Angel into the kitchen and waited, while he heated up a couple of mugs of blood. "I won't eat it."  
  
"Well, maybe we'll have guests over for breakfast." Angel leaned against the counter and waited for the blood to get finished. The microwave beeped and he took the mugs out, blowing across the top. He sat down and placed both mugs on the table, one in front of him and one closer to Spike. "Just in case you get hungry." He said, as he picked his mug and sipped from it.  
  
Spike nodded. "That was all very domestic. Where's Connor, do you think?"  
  
"Probably asleep, up in his room. He sprawls out on his bed, like you do. It's funny." Angel laughed at the mental image and shook his head. Spike had usually slept on his stomach, sprawled out like a giant starfish.  
  
"I don't sprawl." Spike stated, indignantly. "I haven't sprawled since I was a fledge."  
  
"Uh-huh, right." Angel took another sip of his drink and settled back in his chair. He was weary. "You need a hobby."  
  
"I have a hobby." Spike said on a sigh. "I annoy you. It's very fulfilling."  
  
"Maybe you could start scrap booking." Angel gulped down the contents of his mug and grinned. His stomach was full and Spike was looking at him like he was completely loony. Life was good.  
  
"Could you imagine what the scrapbook would look like?" Spike scoffed. "The little captions over to the side would read, 'Here's me and Dru maiming' and 'There's Angelus and his bint, Darla, shagging there brains out'. You think anybody would be interested in that?"  
  
Angel thought a moment and then shook his head. "Maybe Giles or Wesley. Watchers and ex-watchers are strange animals."  
  
"Connor might get a kick outta' it." Spike thought aloud.  
  
"I doubt it." Angel shook his head.  
  
"Get a kick out of what?" Connor stumbled in through the door of the kitchen and rubbed his eyes, sleepily.  
  
"Mornin' sunshine. Sleep well?" Spike grinned at the boy.  
  
Connor shook his head. "No. Cordelia stayed over last night."  
  
Angel scowled at his son. There were way to many implications that went with that comment. "And..."  
  
"Let the boy speak, Angelus. What cha' worried about? That they got happy on one of your coverlets?" Spike caught the look Angel gave him and shuddered. "Oh." Spike scrunched up his nose and shook that image away.  
  
Connor sighed and slumped down into the nearest chair. "She made me clean my room. Does that not seem slightly odd?"  
  
"She's a strange, strange woman." Spike decided he should be the one to break it to Connor. Seemed that nobody else found it relevant.  
  
"Ah-hem." The three men turned to find Cordelia, in all her glory, standing in the doorway, holding a black and white fur-ball. "Fur Face, here, decided to get into my make-up bag. I gave him a bath." She handed the kitten to Connor, who kissed its forehead and then placed it in his lap. "What was that about me being strange?"  
  
"I was just saying how it was strange that you stayed so young and vibrant looking." Spike grinned with satisfaction, as Cordelia smiled in that superior way she had. "You know, seeing as how you're getting so old."  
  
Cordelia reared back her hand and smacked Spike upside the head. "I guess from the view point of a guy who can't age, with dignity and grace, I would seem older. Jerk."  
  
Spike laughed. "And somehow you never seem to age in vocabulary."  
  
"I'll hurt you." Cordelia pointed in Spike's face. "I was evil, you know."  
  
"Not your fault." Angel reminded her.  
  
Connor put his forehead down on the table and proceeded in ignoring the adults. They were all so childish. He tickled his kitten's chin and it rolled over on its back, out of his lap, and into the floor. Connor scooped it up, before it could assess what had happened to it. Skittles decided it was Connor's fault and scratched him, lightly. He tapped the kitten's nose and it plopped back down on his lap.  
  
"Well, Spike uses that with me all the time and it wasn't his fault either." Cordelia was puffed up and ready to fight. Too bad I've already won, she thought.  
  
"Nope. Not so. Wasn't William's fault. Spike, on the other hand..." Spike beat his chest with one fist. "Big bad, here. Loud and proud, baby."  
  
Angel got up from his seat and stretched. This was all way to much activity for him. He wanted to be sleeping in a, less than warm, bed, right now. Not bantering over who was more evil once. He had them beat by a long shot, anyway. Or, at least, Angelus did. Angel shook his head. Sometimes that even confused him. "I'm going upstairs. Cordelia, see if you can get Gunn on the..." Angel shook his wrist, in the air, and sighed. He held hi his clutched palm up to his ear.  
  
"Phone?" Cordelia put in.  
  
"Yes, that." I want to be asleep, Angel thought, with a groan. "See if he checked up on that thing I asked him to check up on. Also, I need you to get Amelie, Andy's mom, in here. I'm going to bed. Wake me up by noon." Angel started for the door.  
  
Spike shook his head. "Two. I'll wake you up at two."  
  
Angel looked back at Spike and the stern look he was giving him. "How about one?"  
  
Spike shrugged.  
  
It wasn't a yes, but it would do. Angel walked back over to the table and picked up the extra mug of blood. He downed it and grimaced. "You're right. It's not that good, unless you're hungry." Angel put the mug down on the table and turned to go. Just as he got to the stairs, leading up to his heaven, he heard Cordelia call out to him.  
  
"Hey, Angel." She yelled. "Those sheets, on your bed, are new and clean. Why don't you wash up before you get in. Your hands are filthy."  
  
Her chiding tone was all it took to make him burst out laughing. If it wasn't one thing...  
  
TBC  
  
-Okay, I know it (the chapter) seems pointless, but it's not. That whole trust factor is coming in again. Anyway, thanks for the reviews. Again, I can't cater to everyone's taste (mainly because everyone's taste is excruciatingly different), but if you like humor and/or strangeness, I aim to please. *grin* La dee di dee doy... Oh, yeah! Didn't Spike already say that he believed that men had attacked him, in the last chapter? I thought I had, but for good measure I mentioned it again. It's good to check all your bases, I suppose. And I do... sooner or later. Again, my cousin is still in town and I only get to write when she sleeps, because "I'm too boring, when I'm on the computer." If she only saw what I was doing. Anyway, I love you guys and feedback is appreciated.-  
  
--The subtitle was Tip-Toe Through The Tulips, which I think is by tiny Tim. Or, at least, he made it famous. This is just a small tribute to a very unusual man, here. My hat's off to him.-- 


	6. Kate

I don't own BTVS or Angel *sigh* or any of the characters in this story *double sigh*. Anyway, some of this that's starting to happen was not exactly my original idea. I've just decided to humor some of your ideas. (And the people rejoiced.) Oh..... I have a question. Why are you guys so worried about Spike? He's in good hands here. *laughs evilly* Okay, I suppose that's enough of that. So we should be.....   
  
On with the show.  
  
::Carpe Diem- Kate::  
  
Angel yawned and rubbed his eyes, before glancing over at the clock and cursing Spike's name. He jumped up, out of bed, and ran over to his bureau, grabbing up the first t-shirt he could get in his grip. "Two-thirty." He slipped the shirt over his head and pulled it down over his chest. After taking a calming breath, he slung his door open and marched down the hall and down the stairs. "Spike! Buachaill? I thought you said you would wake me up at one!" He screamed, once he reached the lobby.   
  
Connor ran out of the kitchen, wearing an apron and holding a bowl of cookie dough. "Shh! Spike can't wake you up, when he's asleep." Connor nodded his head, in the direction of the couch.  
  
Angel looked over in the direction his son pointed out and sighed. Spike was passed out on the couch, right arm covering his eyes and the left hanging, limply, over the edge. His nails, chipped paint and all, brushed the hard floor. "Damn it. Now, I can't be mad at him." Angel muttered under his breath.  
  
"I'm surprised you didn't wake him up." Connor thought out loud, as he went back to stirring his concoction.   
  
Angel watched his son stir the dough and grinned. That stupid cat was sneaking up on him, from behind. It arched up and made a leap for Connor's back. Connor yowled and dropped his bowl, before reaching back and snatching the cat by the skin of its neck. He tried pulling, but the thing had a good grasp on his shirt. Angel walked over, to lend a hand. He took a hold of the kitten and squeezed its jowls. It tried to bite him and suddenly lost interest in keeping its grip on Connor. Angel held it over his face and growled at it. The kitten hissed back.  
  
"My two favorite monsters." Connor stated, dryly. He took the kitten away from his dad and sighed. "What am I going to do with you, Skits?" The kitten purred and tried to lick its master. "Now, you act like you love me. You're a little liar."  
  
"Your dough is still in the bowl." Angel pointed at the, surprisingly, mess-less mess. "The spoon flew over there, somewhere, but you can get another."  
  
Connor dropped Skittles in the oversized pocket, of his apron and sighed. "Cordelia said I should try to be more..... domestic. I think that means she wants me to be a woman."  
  
Angel shrugged. "I've stopped trying to figure out what Cordelia wants."  
  
"She wants you to try and call that number on the desk over there."   
  
Angel turned to look at Spike, who still lay in the same position as before. "What number?"  
  
"The one on the desk, Angelus." Spike turned over on his side, back toward Connor and Angel. "She also wants you to stop yelling and stomping all over the house. No, wait. That's me that wants you to do that."  
  
Angel walked over to the desk and picked up the number. "You eat, yet?"  
  
"Yup. Had a nummy meal. Connor made me pancakes. Seems that you don't have a waffle iron." Spike turned his head, so he was facing his Sire. "That's pretty barbaric, Angel. No waffle iron?"  
  
"Yes, well, I suppose if I were still Angelus, I'd have a waffle iron around somewhere." Angel grinned, wickedly. "Don't think it would have been used for waffles, much."   
  
Spike grinned. "Good point." Spike rolled off of the couch and landed on all fours. He got up and stretched toward the ceiling. "How long I sleep?" He asked Connor, who was now stooped down, picking up his stuff.  
  
Connor shrugged and looked up at the clock on the wall. "Three hours?" He grabbed Skittles, before he could stick his whole head in the bowl of dough.  
  
"Go back to sleep, Spike." Angel pointed at the couch.  
  
Spike shook his head. "Nope. I see cookie dough and I want a piece of the action." Spike dived at the bowl and Connor yanked it back. All Spike got for his effort, was the luck of being smacked with a large wooden spoon. "Ye-ow." Spike rubbed the side of his neck and scowled at Connor. "Jerk."  
  
"Demon." Connor stuck his tongue out at Spike and then broke into a fit of laughter.   
  
"Acting your age is kinda' fun, innit' Con?" Spike asked with a grin. The boy's face is lit up like a bloody Christmas tree, Spike mused. "Okay, get your jollies out and go on with your baking. I won't steal any."   
  
Connor gave Spike a skeptical look and got up from the floor. He offered Spike a hand and the vampire took it, gladly. Connor took back his hand and pushed Skittles head down in the pocket, yet again. "Dad..... What was it that you yelled, when you came downstairs?"  
  
"What?" Angel gave his son a confused look.  
  
"You yelled something in a different language." Connor informed his dad. "You called Spike something, I think."  
  
"It was Gaelic." Spike grinned at his Sire. "What cha' call me? I bet it was nasty."  
  
Angel shook his head. "Don't remember."  
  
"You lie." Spike scoffed. Spike jumped, when his stomach growled. "Holy mother!" Spike glanced down at his stomach and back up at Angel. "I didn't know it could do that, anymore."   
  
"That's because, up until now, you've been feeding it." Angel grabbed Spike, by the arm, and led him to the kitchen. "You're going to eat something. Preferably blood." He shoved his childe in the direction of the fridge and waited, patiently, for Spike to do as he was instructed.  
  
Spike scowled at his Sire and rubbed the place, where Angel had grabbed him. "Was that necessary?"  
  
"Eat." Angel set his jaw and pointed at the fridge.  
  
Spike opened the refrigerator and pulled out a packet of blood, keeping his eyes on Angel the whole time.   
  
"Now, you eat that and I'm going to go make that call." Angel watched Spike another moment, to make sure he was still getting the blood ready. He left the room, when Spike started up the microwave and leaned back against the counter. He headed over to the desk and stopped Connor, on his way into the kitchen. "Make sure he eats. He's being weird about his feeding."  
  
"I heard that!" Spike yelled from the kitchen.  
  
Connor just nodded quietly and headed into the kitchen, where Spike stood biting his thumbnail and watching the doorway. "I have to make cookies."  
  
Spike nodded and put his hand out in front of him, so he could study his nails. "You're playing babysitter."  
  
Connor put his bowl down on the counter and pulled Skittles out of his pocket. He dropped the kitten to the ground, where it landed on its feet, skittered around the kitchen table, and ran out the door. He gave Spike that wise look, which always seemed to remind the vampire of Angel, and shook his head. "I can't make you do anything you don't want to do and I don't plan on trying. I happen to agree with Angel, though. You are being strange..... er, lately. I'm kind of worried about you." Connor gave Spike a half grin and turned back to his unmade cookies. He started pulling dough out of the bowl and placing it on the, already greased, pans that lay out on the counter.  
  
Spike watched the boy for a few silent moments and turned back to the microwave. He opened the door before it could ding and pulled the bag out. He looked at it thoughtfully and bit in.   
  
Angel walked in the room, cordless phone up to his ear. He saw Spike leaning over the sink, sucking down a bag of blood and Connor was slipping a pan of cookies into the oven. Now, this was domestic. "Hello, This is Angel. May I speak to Amelie?"  
  
~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~  
  
"Do you know how much I am willing to pay?" Lindsey hissed into his telephone. He rolled his eyes, as the man on the other side of the line laughed. "Obviously, you don't. I heard that you have precious cargo and I want a piece of it. No, not a literal piece! Are you crazy? You have to keep the pelt intact, or it will be worth nothing, to me." Lindsey sighed, gustily, and nodded, to the benefit of no one, seeing as how he was alone. "Yes. I'll double your asking price. No, I prefer to skin them, myself. I want it wriggling, too. I won't take him if he's dead or sickly. That's right!" Lindsey feigned a chuckle. "Sick bastards, like us, have to stick together. Right? Yeah. Don't be late." Lindsey flipped down the cover of his phone and took a deep breath. After very little contemplation, he threw his cell at the wall, where it was effectively shattered.  
  
"Well, that was lovely, Linds." The young woman walked into the room and slumped down in the nearest chair, bouncing her head against the cushion. "Now, you are going to have to get a new phone and have the number transferred..... again."  
  
Lindsey waved his hand in the air and grinned, cynically. "Evil hand, Katie. What can you expect?"  
  
"Well, I expect you to either train that thing or cut it off." Katie quipped, as she closed her eyes to rest them. She tensed up, when she felt a warm calloused palm cup her cheek.  
  
"I thought you liked my hands."  
  
Katie opened her eyes and looked up at Lindsey. He was so beautiful. "I do. When you aren't using that one as a scapegoat. I don't even think the evil thing applies, anymore." She covered his hand with her own and smiled, weakly. "You'll get him back, you know."  
  
Lindsey shook his head. "No, I don't know." He pulled his hand back and walked over to pick up the pieces of his phone, that lay scattered on the floor. He scooped up the shards and sighed. "I'll kill them, for this."  
  
"I'm not marrying a murderer." Katie watched Lindsey, as he threw the broken phone, into the nearest garbage can.   
  
Lindsey shrugged. He was already a murderer, but Katie really didn't need to know that. "Two months ago, you told me you would never marry a guy who was divorced."  
  
"Two months ago, I didn't know *you* were divorced. Rules are made to be amended." Katie smiled, affectionately, at the man she planned to make a life with. "At least, when it comes to love."  
  
Lindsey shook his head and crossed his arms across his chest. "Andy would love you. You're nothing like his mom."   
  
Katie leaned her head back and chuckled. "Does he hate his mom or something?"  
  
"No." Lindsey frowned. "He's five..... or is he six? Anyway, he's too young to hate anyone, let alone his mother. He still feels like he needs her."  
  
"Doesn't he?" Katie asked, suddenly very serious. She got up from her seat and took the few steps that divided her and Lindsey. She put her arms around his chest and hugged, tightly. "Doesn't he need her?"  
  
"He's better off, without her." Lindsey stated, firmly.   
  
Katie sighed and dropped her arms to her side. "You know that most women wouldn't put up with all of this."  
  
"With what? Their future stepson being a werewolf? Kidnappings? A fiancé who is a charming, yet foolish, ex-lawyer?" Lindsey watched Katie look down at her left hand and smile. She was, yet again, mesmerized by that tiny diamond, glittering on her ring finger.  
  
Katie shook her head and looked up at Lindsey, with a grin. "No. I'm talking about our wedding date. You keep on moving it back. I'll tie you down, get you liquored up, and bring a reverend in, if I have to."  
  
"Gotta' love Southern women." Lindsey grinned a real grin. It was the first one in a few days. All things considered, he was a lucky guy. Well, he would be, in a few hours, when everything was to be settled. "Now if I could only get all of the blasted demons, off my back."  
  
Katie shrugged. "Kill 'em."  
  
Lindsey nodded, as he walked over to his window and looked out at his limited view of the city. "We'll see." He leaned on the windowpane and stared down at the chipping paint. "How did I ever get by, without you Katie?"  
  
Katie didn't know how to answer that, so she just sighed.  
  
Lindsey turned, to sit on the pane, and smiled. "You keep the monsters at bay."  
  
"Maybe, you just started seeing things through rose colored glasses, when you started seeing me." Katie watched Lindsey's face fall, slightly, and suddenly felt guilty for her comment. "I didn't mean anything by that, Linds. You know I've stopped all of my....."  
  
The phone rang, in the kitchen. Lindsey jumped up from his seat and ran to get it. He grabbed it up and almost wilted, when he heard the voice on the other end. "Yeah, Amelie, it's me."  
  
"That voodoo woman there with you? That why it took you so long?"  
  
She sounded pissed and he hadn't even said hello. "Yes, she's here. What does that have to do with anything? You know what? Nevermind. Have you heard from Angel?"  
  
"I can not believe you didn't wait for him to get back to the hotel! You let his houseboy tell you what happened? And since when do you let other people tell you what to do?"  
  
Lindsey wasn't sure whether he should take a leap of courage and fix Amelie's grammar, or not. Probably 'or not' would be the safest bet. "I didn't wait, because I didn't need to, Spike isn't a houseboy, and I only listen to good advice."   
  
"He wants us to meet him at the hotel. He has to talk to us about some stuff. Bring your bitch."  
  
"Oh, you need a ride?" Lindsey couldn't help it. She was so.....  
  
"Just bring the voodoo woman. Maybe..... she can help locate him or something."  
  
Lindsey sighed. He really hoped Katie did decide to go with him. He could use her there with him. "She doesn't practice magic, anymore. She said that the last few months magic has been the most volatile form of....."   
  
"I don't want her back story, Lindsey. Just bring her."  
  
Lindsey dropped the phone in its cradle and covered his face, with his hands. Again, it was Angel. Everywhere he turned.  
  
Katie walked into the room, twisting her hair up on the back of her head and pinning it with a large clip. "Well, lets go, then."  
  
Lindsey looked up and caught the shine in Katie's eyes. Everything would be all right.  
  
~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~  
  
Angel waited patiently for his guests to arrive. Spike was passed out on the couch, catching up on some, much needed, rest and Connor was eating a whole canister of cookies, while refusing to let Gunn have any. "Chocolate chip?" Angel already knew the answer. Nothing smelled like chocolate chip cookies, when they first came out of the oven.  
  
Connor nodded and stuffed another small cookie in his mouth. "I think I'll be domestic more often." He said around a mouthful of semi-sweet, chocolaty goodness.   
  
"Come on, Connor." Gunn almost sounded like a kid, when he made that voice. "Should put a cap in you, you little cookie hog." A really mean kid.  
  
Angel nodded, as he watched the front door. All he had were questions. What he wanted..... needed, were answers. Lindsey- good or bad? Amelie- victim or..... Where had Missy gone? These men were up to something, but what? A loud bang made Angel leave his thoughts and focus, again, on the open doorway. There stood Amelie, in all of her glory. Hair pulled back in a slick ponytail, make-up done to perfection, and a pair of shoes that would make Versace jump out of his grave and kiss her feet. Angel's first thought was definitely, 'Wow'.  
  
"That son of a bitch, bastard, is on my tail. If you're going to kill him, now would be the best time. He has his whore with him, so you might want to get help."   
  
Angel's second thought was, 'whoa'. Angel jumped up from his seat and jogged up to the door. "Gunn, help now and cookies later."  
  
Lindsey walked in through the door cursing his ex-wife and her horrible driving. Next thing he knew, everything was dark and he was laying, face first, on the hard wood floor.   
  
Katie's scream could have broken glass. As a matter of fact, it did. Windows shattered, letting sunlight filter into the room. Angel ran and jumped over the couch, pulling the top, so it toppled and served as a shield for both him and his childe.  
  
"What in the bloody hell is going on, Angelus? We being raided?"  
  
Angel shook his head and peaked over the couch. Connor was standing over the limp form of a young, mocha colored woman. She was beautiful and, as of right now, very scary. How had she shattered the windows?  
  
"Are we hiding out here, until night?"  
  
Angel looked over at Spike, who seemed to be very confused. "No, I'll get Gunn to bring us some blankets. We'll 'Spike it' upstairs."  
  
"Spike it?"  
  
Angel sighed. "I'll explain later."  
  
"Explain what? Why I'm on the ground?"  
  
Angel shook his head, slowly. "I'll figure it all out..... later." Or, at least, he hoped he would.  
  
TBC  
  
-"Ugh! That was hard as crap, to write." That was a direct quotation from my little brother, there. He says funny things, sometimes. Anyway..... Thanks for the reviews. Shout-out to all of my continuous reviewers and a fond thank you, to new readers, also. So, I suppose that's it until next time. Ciao.-   
  
--The subtitle was Kate. It's a song by Ben Folds Five that I happen to like. (Plus, it's the name of Lindsey's girl.) You thought I was going to bring back *the* Kate, didn't cha? Haha! Yeah right. I hate her..... so much. I will never get over the whole Penn thing.-  
  
---If you are wondering, 'buachaill' means boy, in Gaelic. (So says this really cool Gaelic to English dictionary, I found. Now, if I could only find an English to Gaelic dictionary.)--- 


	7. A Kind of Magic

Warning: I happen to use a few strong words in this chapter. I don't think I've used a couple of them, before. I probably won't use them again, either. So... *shrug* Anyway, little warning for you.  
  
I don't own BTVS or Angel and, no matter how much I beg, Joss just won't hand 'em over. I don't own any of the characters in this story and the more I beg... the more pathetic I look. I love you, I love you, I love you! I love you, because you tolerate me and act like you enjoy it. (That was a compliment, I swear.) Oh, and I had someone ask why Lindsey's hand was callused..... Have you ever met a guitarist? Calluses are what make it painless to play. Plus, I figure Lindsey may be doing odd jobs, to keep busy. *shrug* Why not? Anyway, Joss is Super Ultra Lord and I am that dorky kid off of Jimmy Neutron. Yup! I swear it! *crosses finger over heart* We just wear really good costumes. Hey, Nickelodeon can afford the best. Anyway...  
  
On with the show.  
  
::Carpe Diem- A Kind Of Magic::  
  
Lindsey blinked, slowly, and tried focusing on the chair leg, next to his head. "Am I on the floor?" He thought out loud, not really expecting an answer. His head hurt and he was pretty sure his neck was screwed on backwards. "Hello?" He called out. "Angel?"  
  
"No. It would only be me." Spike had been keeping watch over the man. He thought it was downright rude to be knocking the guy out, before he had a chance to explain himself, but there was really nothing he could do about it. It was Angel's home, after all. "You'll be wanting some Tylenol, then?"  
  
"Hell, yes." Lindsey squirmed and realized that his hands were held, tightly, behind his back. "Your sire..... He's one kinked out fuck, isn't he?"  
  
Spike walked over to the bureau and picked up a bottle, examining the wrapper. He had to check the dosage. Wouldn't want to kill the guy, in spite of everything. "I suppose. It would depend on who you were asking."  
  
Lindsey became still and tried a few breathing exercises that he remembered from a relaxation seminar, during his Wolfram and Hart days. "I'm asking you." He continued, after his heart rate went down a notch.  
  
Spike noted the quickened heartbeat and sighed. He could almost feel the pulse, as if it were his very own, thrumming in his ears and through his veins. "Want Tylenol or do you prefer Advil? I'm sure we have both around here, somewhere. How about some Aspirin? I'm not liking that erratic heartbeat, you got going."  
  
"Me neither. Give me whatever you've got." Lindsey spit. He had a horrible taste in his mouth and it was about as dry as Angel's sense of humor, at the moment.  
  
"I'll get you some water to take it with. You'll never be able to swallow it, in that condition." Spike walked into the bathroom and turned on the faucet. He picked up a small drinking glass, on the sink, and rinsed it out, before filling it with water and taking it to Lindsey. He had the glass and a few pills clutched in his left hand. With the other hand, he lifted Lindsey to a sitting position and checked his eyes. "You don't have a concussion. Although, as hard as Angel hit you, I'd say you should. Someone got a charm on you?"  
  
"Not that I know of. Maybe the Devil's just trying to take care of his own." Lindsey tried to make a scowl, as Spike forced his mouth open and dropped the pills inside. Was he a prisoner or a puppy? Was there a difference to vampires?  
  
"Drink the water." Spike was about ready to just let the man choke on the pills and be done with it. Spike sighed, when he realized his hostage was drifting off, somewhere else. "What is it, with LA? Everybody becomes all bloody introspective and broody! You're tied up man!" Spike pulled Lindsey up, by the hair, so that he was almost standing. "You should be spittin' and kickin' and bitin' at me with those wimpy teeth you got there!"   
  
Lindsey smirked and shook his head. He spit the Tylenol out, at Spike's feet, and grinned. "Looks like Angel's not the only kinked out guy, around here."  
  
Spike grunted and sneered. Lindsey was right about one thing. This whole situation was one big fuck-over. He was supposed to be saving damsels in distress. He was supposed to be massacring the mass population. One or the other. No in between, ta. He dropped the man, unceremoniously, on the bed and bent down to pick up the discard medicine.   
  
Lindsey hated the feeling of falling. At least, when he was tied up. He couldn't catch himself, when he hit bottom. He squirmed around, on his back, his own hands pressing in on his spine. A horrifying thought occurred, right about that moment. "Katie! Where's Katie?"  
  
Spike jumped, when he heard the man's terrified shriek. Some things didn't change, after all. There was always one woman out there, for every guy, who could be the life or the death of him. "Calm down. She's fine. A little sedated, since she almost gave me such a nasty little sunburn, but she's fine, all the same. Where did you find her?"  
  
Lindsey wasn't paying attention to Spike's line of meaningless conversation. He needed to know some things. "What time is it? It may be too late!" Lindsey pulled at his bonds and succeeded in chafing his wrists.  
  
Spike sighed, as he watched the man fight his bonds, in vain. "Stop squirming or you'll bleed on the fabric. Those ropes were made to hog-tie Hefner. I don't think you'll be getting away."  
  
  
  
Lindsey became still and sighed. "Don't you mean heifers?"  
  
"What?" Spike asked clearly confused.  
  
"Heifers? You said 'hog-tie Hefner'. Didn't you mean heifers?"  
  
Spike scowled. "I mean what I bloody well said, but if you prefer....." Spike shrugged. "Hog-tie heifers, it is."  
  
Lindsey groaned and let out a strangled scream. "This is stupid. I need to save Andy!"  
  
"Gods, you've got a lot of spunk and very little train of thought." Spike sat on the bed, next to Lindsey, and pressed the man's shoulder down into the mattress, to still him. "Now, you are going to take these pills and drink this water and then I'm going to untie you. Got it?"  
  
Lindsey almost thought it was a lie, a vicious joke being played by, yet another enemy on a very long list. He decided to just take his medicine and hope for the best. He opened his mouth and accepted the little white pills. Then, he took a gulp of the water that was offered to him and washed them down.   
  
Spike put down the cup and, in one fluid motion, flipped Lindsey over on to his stomach. He started, systematically, untying the bonds, until the other man was 'free'. "It'd be smart of you, not to try and run."   
  
Lindsey turned himself, until he was sitting upright, and rubbed his raw wrists. "What time is it?" He asked calmly.  
  
"Son las cuatro menos cuarto." Spike grinned at the young man, who sat there confused and, more than a little, mussed up. "It's a quarter to four."   
  
Lindsey just nodded and ran his fingers through his hair. "I still have time. I need Katie."  
  
"First off, you got to spill your guts." Spike hurried to clear up his comment, when he saw the man turn, noticeably, pale. "What I mean to say is, you need to tell all and tell now. Angel seems to think you may have something to do with his whole werewolf kidnapping thing." Spike noted the way that Lindsey had tensed up and nodded slowly. "He thinks you're a dangerous chap, but you and I know different, don't we?" Spike shoved Lindsey's shoulder, in one of those macho 'let's be buds' sort of way and put on a fake grin.   
  
Lindsey took a shaky breath and feigned a grin, of his own. "Yeah....."  
  
"Good." Spike got up from his seat, on the bed, and walked over to the dresser. He picked up an envelope and threw it on the mattress, in front of Lindsey. "Tell me about those pictures, will you?"  
  
Lindsey opened the envelope, slowly, and peered inside. Nothing jumped out at him, so he figured he was safe. He pulled the contents out and realized how wrong he was. "Oh, shit."  
  
Spike nodded. "That's some of the stuff that we pulled up on your girlfriend in just the last half hour. Angel has friends in many weird places. Apparently, he's bestest friends with a few well-informed, informers over in Louisiana. Did you know that they did those sort of things with chickens?"  
  
Lindsey swallowed, as he shuffled through the pictures. He knew, but he had never seen. "She doesn't do this, anymore." Lindsey put the pictures down, glossy side facing the bed. He looked up at Spike and met eyes with the blonde vampire. "She was young. She's changed."  
  
"Perhaps." Spike shrugged, as he paced at the foot of the bed. He stopped and turned toward Lindsey. "But those sort of things don't just leave your personality, altogether. Trust me on that. They will always be a part of her." Spike stopped to think, for a moment. "Do you know what they do to werewolves, down there?"  
  
Lindsey jumped up from his place on the bed and threw a punch, at his captor. His right fist made a direct connection with Spike's jaw, but his left was caught before it could hit his abdomen. Spike twisted Lindsey's arm, until he had it pinned in between the man's shoulder blades. Spike pushed Lindsey forward, making the man trip and fall face forward into the bed. Lindsey shrieked and kicked, but to no avail. He was trapped. Lindsey turned his head to the side so he could breath again. "You prick!"  
  
"How did I get here?" Spike wondered, aloud. Spike pushed in on Lindsey's arm, making him wince with discomfort. "In the words of Drusilla, 'you're a naughty boy.' In the words of me....." Spike pushed in on Lindsey's arm, when he started to squirm again. ".....I am going to kill you, if you ever do that again. Do you hear me?"   
  
Lindsey stopped moving and nodded, slowly.  
  
"Good." Spike let his grip loosen, on the man's arm and then got up from the bed. Lindsey lay, unmoving, as Spike took a step backward. "You know, there was a time when I didn't give second chances. Your lucky I've become so accommodating." Spike watched Lindsey, thoughtfully, as he rubbed his sore jaw. He could almost see the gears turning, in the young man's head. "You hit like a girl." Lindsey flipped over on his back and gave Spike a disbelieving look. Spike just shrugged. "I just thought you should know."  
  
Lindsey sighed. "I love her."  
  
"You must." Spike agreed. "Love makes blokes like you and me, do stupid things."  
  
"You and me? I would hardly say that we are comparable in any way." Lindsey looked around the room in search of a clock and sighed when he found none.  
  
Spike shrugged, again. "Both of us are plagued by my sire, no matter which way we turn. Both of us pretend it bothers us, but, in all honesty, he's a good way to pass the time." Spike paused and gave Lindsey a threatening glare. "You ever tell him I said that and I'll rip your throat out. I've had my pride a hell of a lot longer, than I've had my soul and I will not have it sullied." Spike waited for Lindsey to give some sort of indication that he understood and then he moved on. "We both have fallen in love with women, who were not the best of choices....." Spike drifted off. "I think we have lots in common."  
  
Lindsey nodded. He wasn't really sure that he accepted Spike's train of thought, but he did know one thing. If Spike were behind him, in this, he would have more pull over Angel. "I'll tell you everything." Lindsey decided. "But first..... I have a plan and it's really stupid, but if we pull it off, it will save Andy."  
  
"Well, let's have it then." Spike grinned and took a seat, next to Lindsey. "Stupid plans are what I do best."  
  
~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~  
  
Connor watched Gunn, as he sat on the couch, shining the silver off of one of Angel's favorite broad swords. "The yelling stopped." Connor saw the way Gunn flinched and he knew, immediately, that the man must have jumped to the worst implications in that comment. "Spike wouldn't....." Connor trailed off and sighed.   
  
Gunn looked up and saw the desolate look that stole across Connor's face. "Naw....." Gunn forced a smile. "He's just gagged 'im or something." Gunn put down the sword and the cloth that he had been polishing with. He got up and walked over to where Connor was standing at the desk. He pulled himself up and sat on the surface, crumpling the papers covering it, as he did. "Or maybe he's doing that vampire thing."  
  
"Sucking his blood, until he's dead?" Connor asked dryly.  
  
Gunn rolled his eyes and flicked his hand, in a 'yeah right' sort of way. "No, I'm talking about..... You know, Dracula stuff."  
  
If it was possible, Connor looked even less amused. "Who?"  
  
Gunn's mouth dropped open. "You don't know who Dracula is?"  
  
"Well, I can tell you that he never visited Quor-toth." Connor looked thoughtful, for a moment. "I think I might have seen a movie about this Dr....."  
  
"Dracula." Gunn filled in. "He could hypnotize people with his mind and practically make them want to get eaten."  
  
Connor groaned and pushed himself away from the desk. "I think I'll go cook something."  
  
Gunn leaned back on his elbows and watched the boy make his trip to the kitchen. I'll never get the knack for this 'family', he mused. "Try for Teriyaki. That stuff is Heaven on a plate!"   
  
"Bite me!"   
  
Gunn chuckled and got down from his seat, on the desk. He walked back over to the couch and picked up his polishing cloth and the sword. He took a good look at the blade and sighed. The thing didn't really need polishing to begin with, so it really didn't need it, now.  
  
A shriek broke the silence of the lobby. "What is going on here!?"  
  
"Cordelia." Gunn turned toward the door and smiled. "We had a party."  
  
Cordelia paced around the lobby, a look of consternation spread across her features. "The windows?"  
  
Gunn nodded and put down the sword. "Voodoo priestess."  
  
"Do they have priestesses?" Cordelia asked, as she bent down to pick up a shard of glass.  
  
Gunn shrugged. "I'm not sure on the details. Angel is upstairs with her."  
  
Cordelia looked around the room and sighed. "This will be lots of work and lots of money. Good thing the curtains were closed."  
  
Gun laughed, half-heartedly. "Yeah, they were, but it seems that little Miss Magic yanked them down."  
  
Corelia screwed up her nose and shook her head. "Spooky."  
  
Gunn nodded, in agreement. "She didn't look like she had that kind of power, but when she saw Lindsey go down, it was like something snapped inside of her."  
  
Cordelia turned a glare on Gunn and stalked toward him. "When she saw who go down?"  
  
Gunn's eyes went round and his jaw dropped. "Umm..... Lindsey?"  
  
Cordelia nodded, slowly, taking it all in. "Let me guess. This was all Angel's idea?" Cordelia didn't wait for an answer. She didn't really need one. "This better not be another macho pissing contest, between them. If it is, I swear that I'll pack up Fred and my bags and we'll be on our way to San Francisco. See, guy there, I can understand. We're on the same wavelength." Cordelia stopped her erratic arm waving and pacing. "Did you even finish up that case, you were on?"  
  
Gunn shook his head. "This *is* the werewolf case."  
  
Connor had been watching the scene from the kitchen doorway. Cordelia was no less animated, than he could remember. She was different, though. She's a little airy, but very smart, he decided. She was also starring at him, stare at her.  
  
"What?" She asked with a small, sad smile.  
  
She always looks like she pities me, Connor thought. He just decided to ignore it, along with the other fifty-some-odd things, he ignored around The Hyperion. "I made cookies, but they're all gone."   
  
"Really? Were they that good?" Cordelia asked with a grin.  
  
No pity there, Connor noted.  
  
"Nobody knows." Gunn was grumbling. "He wouldn't let anybody try them."  
  
"I let Angel have one. He said he forgot what chocolate taste like." Connor grinned. "He said it was like tasting it for the first time and realizing it was his favorite food all over again."  
  
"Well, your dad must have been talking about when he was human cause....." Everyone looked up at the stairwell, toward the voice. "..... he didn't eat human food, when I knew him best. He ate *human* food, but not human food." Spike gave the crowd a grin and shrugged. "What?"  
  
"Why is Lindsey standing behind you?" Gunn asked, with a scowl.  
  
"Because he doesn't want you to take a swing at him and mess up his pretty face." Spike stated, with an oh-so-serious voice.   
  
"Well, he better watch out behind him." Connor nodded up the stairs. "Cause dad looks pissed."  
  
Spike turned to find his sire, leaning on the banister, only a foot behind them. "Angelus!" He said, with a smile.  
  
"Not technically." Angel smiled, wickedly. "But I'm pretty sure he's pissed off too."   
  
Lindsey edged himself backward, until Spike took the initiative and stepped in front of him. Spike sighed and pushed the man back, in the direction of all that was safe and human. "Sire, we need to talk."  
  
"About what?" Angel was rubbing his temples. He could almost feel a tension headache building up. Vampires weren't supposed to get tension headaches. They were dead. They were supposed to be physically incapable of getting tense.   
  
Spike took a hold of his sire's arm and dragged him toward the office. "This guy, Lindsey." Spike's grin grew wider, as he continued. "I don't know if you know it, yet, but he's an effin genius."  
  
TBC  
  
- Hey guys..... You'll have to forgive me. I couldn't help tying Lindsey up. Heh..... *looks around guiltily and digs toe in the sand* Hey! *looks around and tries to figure out where sand came from* Ugh..... Anyway, I hope this chapter was long enough (I doubt it is.). It took me long enough to put out, that's for sure (I couldn't help it). Oh and Lul... I have one comment for your review. I sympathize with your plight. It's just that I've had so many beg me to keep it slashless. So, I've decided to keep it indeterminate. I have to please the masses (to a certain extent) or I don't have an audience. By the by, you are all a bunch of sweethearts. Please keep the review comin'.-  
  
--The subtitle was 'A Kind of Magic' which is a really good CD, by Queen. If you like the music off of Highlander, you'll like this CD.-- 


	8. Beyond the Mirage

I don't own BTVS or Angel. I just play with them, when I get bored. I don't own the people in this story. I just manipulate them in inconceivable ways. Anyway, if Joss was a super villain he would probably be Sauron from LotR, cause he has the 'one ring' that makes him all-powerful. If I were a super villain I'd probably be Seduca off of the Powerpuff Girls with and ugly goatee and pumps. That's okay, though. I've come to accept that when life hands you crap and you just have to make... I couldn't think of anything that wasn't disgusting. So sorry. All in all, you guys are great fun and I've decided to reward you for it. Let's have a little back story, shall we? All righty...  
  
On with the show.  
  
::Carpe Diem- Beyond The Mirage ::  
  
Cordelia tapped on the door, lightly, and waited for an invitation to come in. She decided to skip niceties and just go in, when she heard none. The young woman was propped up on a mountain of pillows, turned toward the far wall and starring out the window. "You must be Katie." The woman's head dipped, slowly, and rose again. Cordelia decided that it could probably count as a nod and she continued. "I'm Cordelia. Is there anything I can get you?"  
  
"Lindsey?" The woman turned her head, so that she could see Cordelia, clearly. "Can you get me Lindsey?"  
  
Cordelia noted the dilated pupils and the red puffiness, which came along with crying your eyes out. Cordelia shook her head and sighed. "I'm sorry. He's downstairs, with Spike. They're trying to convince Angel that they aren't insane."   
  
Katie sat up in her bed and stretched her neck, side to side. "Angel? You mean the guy who knocked Lindsey out? If that's what it takes for us to be able to leave, we're going to be stuck here forever."  
  
Cordelia shrugged. ""I don't know. Lindsey seems pretty sane, to me. Do you mind if I come in and sit down?"  
  
Katie shook her head and flicked her wrist at the chair that sat a couple of feet away from her. "No. Anything is better than sitting here alone."  
  
Cordelia walked over to the chair and took a seat. "You know, Lindsey always did have a good head on his shoulders, even when his heart wasn't in the right place."  
  
"You just described Lindsey to a tee." Katie smiled, warmly. "You must know him pretty well."  
  
Cordelia sat back in her seat and watched the young woman's face. "Man, you've got it bad, don't you?"  
  
Katie nodded. "Ever since the first night I met him."  
  
"How did you two meet?" Cordelia didn't know whether she was prying, too much, and she really didn't care. Katie seemed to not take offence, in any case.  
  
"You really want to know how we met?" Katie cocked an eyebrow and grinned.  
  
If Cordelia wasn't interested before, she certainly was now. She leaned forward in her seat. "Lay it on me."  
  
Katie took a deep breath and let it out, before going into her story of how she found love.  
  
~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~   
  
It was a blistering hot day and it really wasn't helping that the sun had decided to shine down directly over Katie, while she did her gardening. She stuck her little hand held shovel into the dirt and dug up a weed, by its roots. She threw the weed over on her 'discard' pile and swiped a dirty glove across her forehead, in an attempt to clear away the perspiration forming there. All she really managed to do was wipe a sweaty streak of dirt across her face. What did it matter? She wasn't trying to impress anyone.   
  
"Katie, my darlin', you better get out of this sunlight or you're going to be browner than momma's biscuits." The old woman stood in the doorway, her usually grumpy face twisted in what Katie thought was a smile. "You gonna' come inside and get you some ice water?"  
  
Katie looked around her and sighed. To the casual observer she had just made a huge mess that some poor unsuspecting child was going to be forced to clean up later. "Momma Ruth, I need two more minutes and I'll be inside."   
  
The old woman crossed her arms across her massive chest. She looked like a mother grizzly that was ready to attack, but Katie knew better. Momma Ruth ran a home for orphaned and abandoned children. She had a heart that had stretched to all corners of Louisiana and a type of smart sensibility that Katie had only dreamed of owning herself. "You got your two minutes, chile', but two minutes is all. This is one coonass woman who won't back down when it comes to your health." Momma Ruth gazed up at the sun and then back down at Katie. "You're already the color of rich caramel girl. White women like me ain't so lucky to be of Creole heritage and coloring. You get killed of sun stroke and we won't be able to envy you, anymore."  
  
Katie quirked a brow and sniffed. "Mama Ruth, you are a shameless flatterer." Katie swiped her forehead, with the back of her hand and sighed. "On the name of Marie Laveau, I will never understand you."  
  
Momma Ruth swallowed, making a big gulping noise, and cleared her throat. "Child, I thought I told you never to speak that woman's name around here. The children are sensitive to such things."  
  
"Tell me, Ruth. Why are you so scared of Madame Marie?" Katie looked down at her hands and pulled off the gloves, she was wearing. She put them down beside her and then reached up to tuck some of her long dark hair, behind her ears. She looked back up at the older woman and smiled, lovingly. "She just wanted to make the world a better place. She wanted to help people find their happiness."  
  
Momma Ruth's eyebrows scrunched up and became dangerously close to touching. "She was a voodoo priestess, Katie Cat, not a Greenpeace officer. You'll have lots to learn about life and living, before you can see why it's wrong to take such forces into your own hands." Momma Ruth reached down and lifted the hem of her apron up, so she could swipe the sweat off of her brow. "It's too hot for an old lady like me, to be runnin' around outside at this time of day. I'll be goin' in and I 'spect you to do the same, in less than a few moments. You hear?"  
  
Katie smiled up at Momma Ruth and nodded. "You know best, Momma Ruth."  
  
"Momma *always* knows best." Momma Ruth gave Katie a smile that didn't quite reach her eyes and walked back inside, letting the screen door slam shut behind her.   
  
Katie stood up and stretched her long lean frame, toward the sky. She looked up at the sun, while shielding her eyes from the direct rays. "My, Mr. Sun, how you sure do shine."   
  
Katie jumped back, when she heard a sound like a gunshot. She glanced over, toward the noise, and realized it must have come from the other side of the seven-foot privacy fence, Mama Ruth had put up, two years before. "What, in the name of all that is potent, was that?" Katie took a few steps toward the gate and laid her ear up against it. She heard the sound of a car door slamming and the stomping footsteps of a cursing man. "Well, that sure does raise my curiosity level, a bit." She muttered under her breath. Katie took a deep breath and unlocked the fence, swinging it open and stepping out into the back alley, behind Momma Ruth's house. "Excuse..." Katie stopped to stare, for a moment, and suddenly caught herself. "...me?" She ended in a squeak.  
  
The man stood about five foot nine and had medium length, wavy, chestnut colored hair. His eyes were... shut, but Katie was sure that they would match the rest of him perfectly. He was gorgeous... absolutely beautiful. His skin was a pretty pale color, except for the lightly darkened forearms that probably came along with a hard day's work. Katie thought of a poem she had heard as a child. "In the clear gold of sunlight, stretching their backs, -white as snow- see the voluptuous cats."   
  
The man kicked his back tire and swore against everything holy and everything evil. Apparently, he had lost no love between him and the other forces, when his truck decided to die.   
  
Katie cleared her throat and tried to get the man's attention, once more. "Excuse me?"  
  
The man looked up, with what Katie would have called, a glare and huffed. "What now? Am I on your property? Do you want me to put the damn thing in neutral and push it five more feet that way?"  
  
Katie's eyes grew wide and she shook her head. "I was just wondering if you wanted a glass of ice water." Katie took a few more steps toward the stranger and picked at his shirtsleeve. "You're losing more water than you've probably taken in, in a while. If you wait here, I'll get you a glass."   
  
The man leaned against his truck. He jumped forward, just a soon as he touched it. It was hotter than he was. "Well..." He sighed, as he rubbed his left arm. It was noticeably darker than his right arm, since he had been driving with the window down. Of course, he wouldn't have had to do that, if the air conditioner had worked. "... doesn't look like I'll be going anywhere. For a while, at least." The man looked back at the girl and almost gasped. Her hair was a long, silky brown and her eyes were... violet? Lush peach lips curled up in a smile.  
  
"Good." Katie couldn't help smiling at the man. She had a feeling about him and it was a *good* feeling. She couldn't remember the last time she had had a good feeling about a man. Katie turned back toward the house and stopped in her tracks. She turned back toward the young man and grinned. "What's your name?"  
  
"Lindsey." Lindsey tried leaning on one hand, against the hood of his car, but jumped back, again. There was no way he was going to be able to look smooth, in this heat.  
  
Katie's heart danced, as she watched Lindsey try to recover from the mental fumble. "Well, I'm Katie." She smiled, widely, when Lindsey nodded and put on a cool look of indifference. "I'll go get that water, then." She headed through the gate and ran to the house. Momma Ruth had to hear about this man!  
  
After lots of conversation about the man's appearance and his bad luck, Momma Ruth decided that she wanted Katie to invite him inside. So, Katie took the long walk out to the gate and peaked around the corner.  
  
Lindsey sighed and ran his fingers through his hair. He was slumped down on the ground, leaning against the side of his truck. He looked at his white tee shirt and grimaced. It clung, tightly to his torso, because it was absolutely saturated with sweat. "Lovely." He muttered, as he covered his face with his hands and sighed, again. The beautiful little woman had been very nice to him and he had acted like a bear. Lindsey chuckle when he thought of the girl. Her face was streaked with dirt, as were her clothes, and it didn't take away from her beauty.  
  
Katie grinned, for the umpteenth time, and walked around the gate, holding the ice water, in front of her. She dipped her fingers in the glass and sprinkled a few droplets over Lindsey's head. The man shivered and jumped, before jerking his head up and glaring at Katie. "You aren't really a people person, are you?" Katie asked, as she handed the man his glass of water.  
  
Lindsey took two or three long gulps of water and sighed, after he pulling the half emptied glass away. "Why do you say that?" Lindsey laid his head back against the truck door and smiled at the beautiful girl who was serving as shade, from the sun.  
  
Katie shrugged. "You just seem to give me more scowls, than smiles."   
  
"You wish I'd smile at you more?" Anything you want, darling, Lindsey thought, to himself. He smiled, again.  
  
Katie smiled back and crouched down, in front of Lindsey. "You have pretty eyes."  
  
Lindsey eyes lit up, at that statement. "I was thinking the same thing."  
  
"Then you're pretty vain. That's a mark against you." Katie pushed herself up from the ground and smiled down at the man, playfully. "You want to come inside? It's not really air conditioned, but we have a load of fans running in there." Katie looked back up at the sky and squinted. "It's a lot cooler than out here, that's for sure."  
  
Lindsey thought a moment and then nodded. "Why not?"  
  
Lindsey and Katie had spent every day together that week, until Lindsey finally had figured out how to fix his truck. They were both pretty sure that they were falling in love and neither really knew what to do about it. Lindsey knew he had to go back to California to fix some family issues and Katie was involved in... things she didn't want to tell Lindsey about. So, things weren't perfect and, as they say, all good things had to come to an end.  
  
"Voodoo? You are into voodoo?" Lindsey raked a hand through his hair and sighed, as he paced up and down the floor of the old church.  
  
"Not... into it." Katie tried to sound reasonable, but she only ended up sounding defensive.   
  
Lindsey stopped pacing and turned toward Katie. He grabbed her by the arm and pulled her close to him. After looking into her eyes, for a long moment, he smiled. "I didn't say that I was disapproving. I was just... surprised, I guess."  
  
Katie pushed against Lindsey's chest and raised an eyebrow in suspicion. "What are you *into*?"  
  
"What?" Lindsey was really surprised, now. He wasn't into anything... anymore, that is. He let go of Katie's arm and took a step back, so that he could have room to pace, nervously. "Well, I'm not into anything. I do have a past, as does everyone. You know, like you with your voodoo."  
  
Katie shook her head and grunted. "It's not my past, Linds. It's my present. It's my now. It's my everything." Katie took a seat on the old pew that sat to her left and slumped down in the old cushioning. "I have a gift." Katie looked down at her fingernails and smiled. Momma Ruth had insisted on painting them a pearly white, for her date with Lindsey. Of course, she had never expected to end up in the old church. She looked down at her dress and wondered if she should have worn a higher neckline and a lower hemline. Katie smiled up at Lindsey. "Are you afraid of women with power?"  
  
Lindsey grinned and leaned over the pew that sat in front of Katie, so that they were face to face. "What are you talking about? Women with power is a huge turn-on for me." Lindsey looked around the room and sighed. "But power doesn't have to be supernatural. You have a lot of mental and physical power."  
  
"What if those went away?" Katie asked, quietly.  
  
"I'd still love you." Lindsey picked up Katie's hands, in his own, and took a deep breath. You are the most understanding, sweetest person I have ever met. You're beautiful inside and out. I don't know what I would do if I didn't have you here to keep me sane. You lightness and love has won over the darkness in me..."  
  
"Lindsey?" Katie smiled up at Lindsey. He smiled back and nodded. "If you don't end that speech on a proposal, I'll put a hex on you."   
  
Lindsey burst out laughing and pulled Katie into a hug. "I wouldn't have it any other way." He whispered into her hair. He pushed her back, for a moment, and made direct eye contact. "But no more hexes, okay? You don't have to do this anymore. It doesn't have to be our everything."  
  
Katie looked thoughtful and then nodded. "I can't get rid of my natural abilities, but no more spells. They're a waste of energy, anyway." Katie paused and nodded, slowly. "Not to mention, chickens."  
  
  
  
Lindsey scrunched up his nose and sniffed. "Chickens?"  
  
Katie broke out into a grin. "I'll tell you about it sometime. Until then you could probably watch 'Interview with a Vampire' to get the gist. They have some pretty good scenes, in there."  
  
Lindsey pulled Katie into another embrace and sighed into her hair. "That's another thing. No vampire movies, ever, okay?"  
  
Katie chuckled and petted the back of Lindsey's head. "Whatever you say, darlin', but it seems like such a waste. No more Brad Pitt, Tom Cruise, or Antonio Banderas in vampire make-up?"  
  
Lindsey pulled back and smirked. "Antonio Banderas looked like a drag queen in that movie and you know it."  
  
Katie nodded. "A gorgeous drag queen."  
  
Lindsey rolled his eyes. "Okay, so about this living situation. I have to go back to California for a while."  
  
Katie nodded and sighed. "Give me two months and I'll have everything here wrapped up, okay? Just two months to finish up with Momma Ruth."  
  
Lindsey got up from his seat and walked around to sit on the pew, Katie was sprawled on. He pushed her over and then, somehow, managed to lay down, half on Katie and half on the pew. He looked over at Katie and smiled. "You tie up loose ends, here, and I'll tie up loose ends there, and we can figure out where we want to go from there."  
  
Katie played with a lock of Lindsey's hair and sighed. "California?" She had never really thought about going so far west. It could be exciting, she thought.  
  
"Katie?" Lindsey watched the burst of emotions flit across his fiancés face and chuckled. "How do you feel about kids?"  
  
~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~  
  
Cordelia was stunned at the end of the story. She had never thought love could hit two people so fast and just... stick. "And that was that?"  
  
Katie shook her head. "A couple of weeks later I was waiting for Lindsey to come out of the super market and his phone rang. Well, I let it go. Then, it started ringing again. It did that so many times that I almost chucked the thing out the window, but instead I answered. The devil was on the other line and she wanted child support. Plus, she wanted to tell Lindsey that *his* son was now a monster."  
  
"Ahh..." Cordelia shook her head. "What did you say to her?"  
  
"I told her that Lindsey would be back in a moment and I would tell him that she called." Katie sighed. "She didn't like that. She said that I was just another tramp her had picked up on his journey to finding himself and that I should just walk away before he got into my system. I told her he was already in my system and that I was relishing it. That pissed her off."  
  
"I suppose so." Cordelia looked over at the clock and groaned. "It's four twenty. This is the longest day I have ever had to live through. I wonder if the boys are done talking, yet."  
  
Katie looked over at the door, when she heard a small taping sound. "Come in."  
  
In walked a man she hadn't seen before, with slick white hair and skin just as pale. He was dressed in all black. He resembled a sort of pretty gutter punk. "Your boyfriend will be up in a second." The man smiled. "I'm Spike. You must be the witch, who almost gave my a little burn."  
  
Katie nodded and pushed some hair behind her ears. "Sorry about that."  
  
"Don't worry about it, lovely." Spike walked over to the girl and lifted her chin, so her could see into her eyes. "He was right. They're definitely violet."  
  
Katie smiled, when she realized he must have been talking about Lindsey. "Did he say anything else?"  
  
Spike thought for a moment and nodded. "He asked if you were up for a little bit of magical scare tactics."  
  
TBC  
  
-Okay, my lovelies, a little bit of back-story was in order, eh? Now, is everything okey-dokey on the Katie front? By the by, flashbacks are fun to write. Oh, and I thought I should go ahead and say that I didn't steal the Carpe Diem thing from Buffy, but that was a really good episode. It was second season BTVS and it was the episode 'Surprise'. (Angel lost his soul, at the end.)  
  
  
  
Willow: Carpe diem. You told me that once.  
  
Buffy: 'Fish of the day'?  
  
Oh, that is just priceless. Thanks for the reminder Imzadi. (I almost think I like your wording better than the original.) It had me laughing, out of my seat. Hehe.-  
  
--The subtitle was 'Beyond The Mirage', which is some wonderful guitaring by Al Di Meola--  
  
--- The piece of poem (that Katie thought of) was the first line from 'White Cats' by Paul Valery.--- 


	9. Bahama Mama

I don't own BTVS or Angel, because Joss is a meany-head who doesn't want to share. I don't own most of the characters in this story and pouting about it doesn't seem to fix things. So, I'm feeling sorta'... thin. Kinda' like a wraith. *sigh* Oh, I have an idea! Feed the starving artist some tasty reviews! (My muse is being a... stupid-face and I'm having a hard time with it. I know that was very elementary of me, but I don't care.) Anyway, Joss Whedon is da' bomb and I am hardly da' bullet, but that's okay, cause I try. Anyway, this is the portion, after my ranting, where I say...  
  
On with the show.  
  
::Carpe Diem- Bahama Mama::  
  
She walked into her apartment and flicked on the light, tossing her keys over on the counter to her right. She shut the door behind her and sighed gustily.  
  
"Amelie, is that you?" The young woman walked into the room, apron tied around her small waist and a dustpan and broom clinched in her fists.  
  
Amelie looked up at her guest and grinned. "What are you doing here, Mis?"  
  
Missy shrugged. "I guess I felt guilty for the screw up and I wanted to make it up to you." Missy lifted the dustpan and broom up and smiled. "See? I cleaned."  
  
Amelie laughed, warmly, and sighed. "No need to feel bad, Missy. So, you made a little mistake. We're no worse off, for it." Amelie walked around her couch and slipped her pumps off, before plopping down on the cushions. She rested her head back against a small pillow and closed her eyes.  
  
"So, did Angel get your bastard of an ex-husband?" Missy leaned across the back of the couch and watched the way Amelie's lips twitched up in an 'almost' smile.   
  
"Yes, they got him. The older vampire knocked him out. He went out like a light." Amelie snuggled down into the cushions and chuckled. "They grabbed the witch, soon after she let out this destructive shriek that knocked down the curtains and broke the outside windows. Angel, you met him, jumped over toward this couch, where this blonded man was sleeping. I suppose he was a vampire too. They hid, until this good looking black man brought them some blankets." Amelie sighed. "It was exciting."  
  
Missy frowned. "The blonde man... was he really pale, like he was bleached head to toe... except, you know, for wearing black."  
  
"Yes." Amelie opened her eyes and looked up at her friend. "Why?"  
  
"That was the guy I told you about. Spike, I think his name was. He didn't like me, from the start. He was very ready to hand out blame for everything."  
  
Amelie nodded, thoughtfully. "He was there when I met Angel, too. Now, that I think about it, he really didn't like me either. He could be a problem."  
  
Missy shrugged and walked around the couch, until she came to the matching loveseat. She lay across it, much in the same way that Amelie was sprawled on the bigger couch. The only difference was that her legs were hanging over the armrest. "I'm sure he wpon't be a problem. He seemed to just be mad, when I saw him. I think he was fighting with the older man."  
  
"Vampire, Mis. Remember that they are monsters and nothing less." Amelie smiled and shrugged. "Nothing more either."  
  
"Kind of like Andrew?" Missy asked, quietly.  
  
Amelie shook her head. "He's something more, Missy."  
  
Missy nodded. "He's a little boy."  
  
"That's not what I meant." Amelie threw her arm across her forehead and sighed. "He's a means to an end, Missy. When this is over we shall be done with Andy, Lindsey, and the whole lot of them. I won't have to be mother-dearest any longer, I'll be able to retire early, and we can move to Aruba... or maybe Jamaica."  
  
Missy laughed, like a little girl, and hopped up in her seat. "I'll be able to sit back and drink Pina Coladas for the rest of... forever."   
  
Amelie spared Missy a glance and shrugged. The girl was very energetic and she was always so happy. Amelie didn't want to shoot down her little daydreams, so she decided to be agreeable. "Of course, Mis, but won't you get bored? I mean you're just twenty-one. You might change your mind and want to go to the Alps or run off with some hot young cabana boy. I'm not saying that I would blame you, of course."   
  
Missy shook her head. "I don't think so."  
  
Amelie nodded and closed her eyes, again. "Whatever you say, dear."  
  
Missy bit on her thumbnail and looked over at Amelie. The woman had been watching out for her, for close to five months and she was worried that it was all to good to be true. "You aren't changing your mind, are you?"  
  
Amelie shook her head. "When I make up my mind, I stick to it."  
  
"Good." Missy sighed, with relief and leaned back into her seat. "I almost feel bad about it all, though. I mean Lindsey really does think that Andy is his."  
  
"Oh, he knows that's just wishful thinking on his part." Amelie sniffed. "He's a fool if he really believes it, through and through."  
  
"He treats him like a son." Missy watched Amelie's sneer turn into a snarl.  
  
Amelie shrugged. "He deserves what he gets."  
  
Missy nodded. "I guess." She said, indecisively. "So, everything is going according to plan?"   
  
  
  
Amelie chuckled, quietly. "Yes, Mis. Everything is perfect."  
  
~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~   
  
Lindsey paced around the office, Angel still sitting across the room. Angel had been starring at him for so long now that Lindsey's skin wanted to crawl off of his frame and away from the vampire's gaze. Lindsey stopped pacing and turned toward Angel. The tension in him would have been evident to even the most casual observer. "What?!"  
  
"You and Spike are friends, then?" Angel tried to make the statement sound aloof, laid-back even, but it just ended up sounding absurd, even to his ears.  
  
Lindsey nodded, slowly. "Yes, I suppose." He sighed. "The times we weren't pummeling each other were actually quite pleasant. I don't think our relationship calls for a chorus of 'So Happy Together', but we seem to get along."  
  
Angel grunted and put his chin in his palm. "But you're so... you."  
  
Lindsey's jaw dropped. "What's that supposed to mean?"  
  
Angel shrugged and sat back in his seat. "Spike wouldn't even consider you a decent snack."  
  
Lindsey wasn't sure whether that comment was comforting or degrading. He pointed his finger in Angel's face and huffed. "When I think of a decent comeback, I'll get back with you."  
  
Angel chuckled. Maybe Lindsey was still good for a laugh or two. "Well, if you two are such good friends, maybe you can tell me what's wrong with him."   
  
Lindsey took a seat, in a chair in front of Angel, and slumped down. "What do you mean?"  
  
Angel sighed. Where to begin? "He hasn't been feeding, he's brooding, and he's almost eager to help out on cases. It's like he's a different person." Yeah, that about summed it up.  
  
Lindsey shrugged. "Or becoming a person."  
  
Angel's head snapped up. "What?" He got up from his seat and leaned over Lindsey, cocking his head to the side. Unbeknownst to him, he was growling just loud enough for Lindsey to hear.  
  
"It's just that..." Lindsey leaned back slowly, as Angel rested both of his hands, on the armrests to Lindsey's sides. "A vampire with a soul that has redeemable qualities... Seems like he might be 'shan-ing' your 'shu'." Lindsey gasped, inaudibly. Angel was right in his face, growling, under his breath, like some type of animal. Duh, Linds, he thought, suddenly.  
  
Angel sniffed the air and pushed himself back a step. He took a breath and gave Lindsey a small smile, which was actually more of a hard twist of his lips. "You think too much." Angel smacked Lindsey's cheek, a little less than softly, and took a few more steps backward, until he was sitting on the edge of his desk.  
  
"What's all this, then?" Spike stood in the doorway, leaning against the frame. "I thought you were going to send him up to talk to his honey."  
  
Angel gave his childe a toothy grin. "We got caught up... chatting"  
  
Spike quirked a brow, at his sire. "Chatting?" He looked over at Lindsey and shook his head. The man smelled like he was about to piss his pants... not that he smelled like urine. He smelled more like frightened animal. At one time, fear used to be an aphrodisiac for him. Not it just smelled like... fear. Spike looked back at his sire and grinned his own little grin. He tried projecting the word 'bastard' at him and hoped he got the message. Who knew?  
  
Angel knew what Spike was thinking. Hell, he could smell the stench of fear wafting through the air, so he knew Spike could. It was actually a kind of heady smell. Angel bet that Spike was probably thinking of some choice names to call him, when they were alone, later on.  
  
"Lindsey, I give you leave from this office." Spike smirked at the man, as he pushed away from the wall and walked toward his sire. "You and me need to talk." He murmured under his breath, so that only Angel could hear.   
  
Angel nodded, solemnly. "You're breaking up with me?" He couldn't help but break out into a grin, over that all-too-serious look Spike was wearing. Then he frowned. Spike didn't seem...right. "What is it?"  
  
Spike nodded over in Lindsey's direction. He didn't want to discuss anything, while Lindsey was around.  
  
Lindsey was still standing outside the door of the office, trying to figure out what to say when he got upstairs. Should he knock on the door or just bust in and take Katie into his arms? Would she push him away, slap him, and tell him he's an idiot? There were too many thoughts. He figured that he would just cross that bridge, when he came to it.   
  
Spike waited for Lindsey to make his way upstairs and he slammed the office door. He turned on his sire and growled. "Were you being a sod, again, Angel?"  
  
Angel's eyes grew wide and he shook his head. "No, mother. I was being good." Wow, Spike looked pissed.  
  
"This is so like you!" Spike stomped his foot like an angry child and collapsed in the nearest chair. "No, I retract that comment. This is so like Angelus!" Spike took a deep, unneeded breath and let it out in a huff. "You're stirring things up. Keeping me off balanced. I need to know what's going on, around here!"  
  
"What are you talking about, Spike? I tell you more about what's going on, than anyone." Angel was thoroughly confused. He really had been pretty open with his thoughts about Lindsey and the like. "I thought I was keeping you pretty well informed."  
  
Spike shook his head, obstinately. "You don't tell me bloody-well enough, that's for bleedin' sure!" Spike jumped up from his seat and pointed in his sire's face. "Are you planning on letting Angelus out?"  
  
Angel went completely still and stared at the finger that almost sat on the bridge of his nose. He, then, looked up into his childe's eyes and sighed. "What?" Angel suddenly felt very tired. Spike had had stupid ideas and crazy notions, before, but what could ever make him think that he was going to let Angelus out?  
  
Spike pulled his hand back and put in his pocket. He turned and looked around the room, as if he had never really seen it before. He took a step toward the door and then, turned back to his sire. "You're not, then?"  
  
Angel hit both of his fists on the desk, underneath him, and grunted. All of this resulted in Spike jumping back, in surprise, and a splintered finishing on a perfectly good desk. "What is this all about Spike? Why haven't you been feeding? Why are you getting so into this case? Why are you being nice with Lindsey?"  
  
Spike looked around the room, as if scoping out the nearest exit. "You want those answers in any particular order... Sire?"  
  
"I want you to stop looking for an escape and sit down... now." Angel narrowed his gaze at Spike, when the younger vampire looked up at him. "As long as I get answers, I don't care what order they come in."  
  
Spike nodded, as he took a seat in front of Angel, again. Spike scratched the back of his neck and sighed. "I haven't been eating, cause my stomach has been weird, lately. Blood still sustains me, but it seems to have lost it's... magic. It tastes stale." Spike shrugged. "I don't know what I'm trying to say."   
  
Angel just nodded.   
  
Spike was encouraged to go on, when Angel said nothing. "I've been nice to Lindsey cause I don't care to be mean to him. He's lost his kid, Angel. Have some compassion. From what I've picked up on, that bitch tricked him into getting her preggers, so that he would do the 'honorable' thing and marry her. She split his assets down the middle. Of course, he wasn't exactly Richie Rich, at the time. Seems like it was part of the reason he went to Wolfram and Hart. To get some cash flow." Spike sighed and ran his hand through his hair.  
  
Angel nodded, slowly, taking it all in. He didn't want to stop Spike, now. Not when he was being so open.  
  
Spike took a breath and muttered under it. "I've been so involved in this case, cause I've been wanting to keep an eye on you."   
  
Angel shot Spike a disbelieving look and shook his head. "Why would you want to do that?"  
  
"It's this guy, Angelus. He makes you mean and not a few days ago, I had a dre..." Spike drifted off.   
  
Obviously, Spike had not meant to make that little slip up. "A dream?" Angel crossed his arms across his chest and smiled, almost sweetly. "Continue."  
  
Spike shook his head. "No, you don't, Angel! You would refuse me the gory details and you know it! I'm not just going to take a leap, just cause you say jump!"  
  
Angel nodded, in an accepting and thoughtful manner. "How about if I say, 'Jump, now.'" Angel met his childe's gaze and didn't let it drop. "Eh, boy?"  
  
Spike shook his head, vehemently, and pushed himself up from his seat. "You aren't doing this too me. I won't have it. I'll leave before this crap comes back full-throttle." Spike stomped toward the door, his Doc Martens hitting the floor in an unusually hard manner.  
  
  
  
"Spike..." Angel stopped when Spike turned toward him. He looked weak. "..you are killing yourself and I want to know why."  
  
Spike shook his head, sadly. "Cause it's better to kill myself, than to have you do it for me."  
  
TBC  
  
-Okay, questions answered and questions asked. Ha! Now, you hafta' review. Well, you don't have to, but I would appreciate it. *chuckles* (Oh, and Chelsea dear... I believe that you certainly made up for your lack of speediness, in reviewing. *gives fake glare* But don't let it happen again! *holds out ruler, threateningly*) Hehe... I love you guys.-  
  
--The subtitle was Bahama Mama, because I love that drink to pieces. Non-Alcoholic, of course. *grin*-- 


	10. Cat Scratch Fever

I don't own BTVS or Angel and I don't deserve them, because I neglect them for way too long. I don't own the people in this story, although I wouldn't neglect a one of them for any longer than was absolutely necessary. I'm a dreadful, awful girl and I should be punished. Please don't let your reviews reflect your anger about my being slow to update. I was ill and I'm better now. *grin* Anyway, Joss is a lean, mean writing machine... I'm a slightly lean, kinda' ornery wanna-be author, who's just having loads of fun writing fanfics. So, there you have it! All right... It's been a while. What do I say now? Oh yeah...  
  
On with the show.  
  
::Carpe Diem- Cat Scratch Fever::   
  
The man sat there picking some gum off the bottom of his boot. He probably had stepped in it at the zoo, when he had picked up the wriggling sack of wild animal. It had been the same wild animal that sat in the corner of his apartment, chained to the wall and whimpering. If that kid looked up at him, with those big doe eyes again, he was going to slap him across the face. He couldn't take it anymore. His boss, Mr. Mal, was used to this sort of thing, but he was only twenty-four and had just started in this business-- and what a business! He had already been shot, with a tranquilizer dart, and on his first night, too! "Shut up kid."   
  
"My mommy will save me. She's a strong lady and she'll hurt you." There was little pride in that squeaky voice the kid offered up, but it was filled with certainty.   
  
"I wouldn't count on it, kid." He muttered, as he pried the gum loose and grimaced.  
  
"I've seen her crack noses." Andy sat there squeezing his knees to his chest and rocking back and forth. "Mr. Bad?" Andy had started calling his captor Mr. Bad, when he was given no name to go by.  
  
"What Kid?" Mr. Bad opened the small window and threw the newly unstuck gum, out into the wind.  
  
Andy sighed quietly and shrugged. "Do you mind if I have something to drink? I'll wake up thirsty, if you don't gimme one now."  
  
Mr. Bad sighed and shook his head. He wasn't getting paid enough to baby sit this kid. His sixteen-year-old sister got better deals and she had to give up her weekends to do it. All she really did was watch TV and talk to her boyfriend on the phone for a couple of hours, while the parents took a break from the brats. "Water okay with you?"  
  
Andy sighed and nodded, still staring at the floor. "Water's fine."  
  
Mr. Bad shrugged off his jacket and shoved his sleeves up his forearms, as he walked into the four-by-five kitchen area. He searched the cupboards and pulled out a glass, before shoving it under the faucet and turning on the tap. At least, the water was clean, he thought, ironically. He stared at the particles in the glass that floated around and hoped, for the kid's sake, that they didn't have legs. He turned off the tap and walked back in the living room. The kid was shivering, now. He walked over to him and pushed his leg, with the toe of his Timberlands. "Hey, kid. Your drink." Andy looked up and Mr. Bad jumped back in shock, dropping his glass, as he stumbled over his own feet. "What the hell?"  
  
Andy snarled and jumped forward, pulling on his chains. He snarled and his top lip curled up over his teeth. His eyes had turned bleak and soulless. His teeth were sharpening into some pretty vicious points and he was sprouting hair in places where six year olds shouldn't have to worry about. "Grr..."  
  
"What is going on here?"  
  
Mr. Bad picked himself up off the ground and groaned. "I'll never get used to that!" He glanced over his shoulder and saw the grin that was spreading over his boss' face. "Will I?"  
  
Mr. Mal nodded, cheerfully, and grinned wider. "Wait 'til I let you skin one, my boy." He dropped his coat on the arm of the couch and picked up the dart gun, which lay on the coffee table. He aimed the gun at Andy's chest and pulled the trigger. The dart hit cleanly and, in less than a minute, Andy's hairy little form lay in a heap, on the carpet. "Now, shall we let sleeping dogs lie?"  
  
Mr. Bad frowned and looked at the furry back raise with each breath the animal took. "I don't think you used that certain cliché in context."  
  
Mr. Mal shrugged and dropped the gun back down on the table that he first picked it up from. "I'm rich. What do I care if I use the correct clichés or not? I can pay a man to create me some new clichés, if I like."  
  
Mr. Bad sighed. "If it's a real cliché, it is a term or phrase that is used over and over again, so you would have to have somebody introduce the term and give it a lot of time, before it could be..."  
  
"Will you just shut up?" Mr. Mal collapsed on the couch and kicked his feet up on the table, next to his gun. "You are really grating my nerves, boy."  
  
Mr. Bad huffed, as he crossed his arms across his chest and leaned against the wall. "Did you give the money, to the woman?"  
  
Mal quirked an eyebrow and shook his head, while running a hand through his disheveled chin length hair. "You are a pretty stupid boy. You know that?" Mal continued, not really expect an answer from his young counterpart. "How can I give the lady her share of the money, if I haven't received any money yet?" mal grinned at the boy, who was now starring out the window, longingly. "You want to go get some fresh air or something? The kid ain't going anywhere, unless we move him." Mall flicked his hand up at the wall clock and grinned. "We have two hours, yet."  
  
Mr. Bad or 'Boy', as Mal so lovingly called him, just shrugged. "I could use air, I guess." He walked over to where he had discarded his coat and picked it up, off the floor. He shrugged it on and walked toward the door. "I have my phone, if you need me."  
  
Mal nodded and picked up the remote control, from in between the couch cushions. He flipped the television on and settled back in his seat. "Sure thing, my boy. Don't do anything I wouldn't do."  
  
The boy stopped, before stepping out in the hallway, and turned back toward his boss. "Is there anything you wouldn't do?"  
  
Mal stopped watching the TV, for a second, and looked at the man, in the doorway. "I wouldn't kill a kitty." Mal chewed on his lower lip, lightly, and nodded, before turning back to the infomercial, he had started watching.  
  
The boy nodded and sighed. He made his way out into the hallway and shut the door behind him. "Nice to know." He muttered, as he stuck his hands deep into his pockets and headed down the hallway, toward the fire exit.  
  
~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~   
  
Spike was bored. He sat down on the ground, slumped up against the door of the office, banging his head against the wood. "Are you done, yet?" He whined to his Sire, who was pacing back and forth, cursing in Gaelic.   
  
Angel stopped in his tracks and stomped over toward Spike. He stood there starring down at his childe, until blue eyes met brown. "You know what? You're an ass!" The words sounded funny coming out of Angel's mouth, instead of Spike's, but the sincerity in the statement was definitely there. Angel stomped away from the slumping form of his childe and growled, under his breath. He really was feeling... angry? No. He was incensed... irate, even.  
  
"Would you try and calm down. Maybe you should try some breathing exercises or something." Spike stared p at the ceiling and groaned, quietly. Angel was being really pissy.  
  
Angel stopped his pacing and his stomping, and took a few steps toward Spike. He leaned down and looked his childe in the face, which forced Spike to meet his eyes, once more. "I. Don't. Breathe." Angel pulled back his hand and brought it down, flicking Spike's ear.   
  
Spike flinched back and rubbed the lobe. "What'd you do that for?"  
  
Angel leaned back up and shrugged. "You were being an idiot. It felt like the right thing to do, at the time."  
  
Spike scoffed and pushed himself up, off the floor. "Well, ta!" Spike turned and tried opening the office door, but it was just shut again, by the hulking mass of Angel that slammed into it. "Let me out." He gave his Sire a look of annoyance and received a smack upside the head. Spike took a step back and growled. "Hit me again and I'll be forced to hurt you."  
  
Angel grinned. "Good. That's what I want to hear." Angel took a step toward his childe and shifted into game face. "Get mad, Spike. Throw things. Stomp around the place, like you own it. Turn your stupid music up, until the windows shake and the neighbors complain." Angel stalked toward his childe with every suggestion.   
  
Spike retreated with every advance. He wasn't sure what Angel's plan was, but he knew it probably was something bad. He had that look in his eyes. Spike hated that look more now, than he had loved it as a fledgling.   
  
Angel took one last step and halted, in his footsteps. "I want you to hit back, Spike. I want you to do anything you please. Just stop being such a..." Angel searched his massive vocabulary, for the right word. "...bitch."  
  
Spike launched himself at his Sire and, before he could think about it, he had the larger vampire's shoulders pinned to the hardwood floor.   
  
"That's my boy!" Angel shoved Spike up, off of him, and jumped to his feet. He stood still for a second, starring at his childe, and then shook off his game face. "You didn't even shift faces." He said it with a frown.  
  
Spike shrugged. He was still seated on the floor. "It's not like it's a reflex, Angelus."  
  
"It should be." Angel insisted, as he offered Spike a hand. He pulled the blonde man to his feet and shrugged helplessly. "I don't mean to sound childish, but I don't think it's fair."   
  
Spike brushed off the seat of his pants and heaved a sigh of frustration. "What's not fair?"   
  
"You... taking my shan-shu."  
  
Spike's head snapped up and he gave his Sire a look that could break glass. "Where in the bleedin' hell did you get an idea like that?"  
  
Angel shrugged and scratched the back of his skull, nervously. He cough and muttered something that sounded like 'Lihn he' and an idea came to Spike.  
  
"The boy's got you all worked up. Don't he?" Angel just shrugged, which made Spike smile. "Is that why you almost scared the piss, straight out of him?" Angel shrugged again and Spike sighed. "You don't have to worry, Angelus. I'm not stealing your shan-thingie."  
  
"Shan-shu..." Angel almost looked as if he was pouting. "I guess you would deserve it..." He muttered, thoughtfully.   
  
  
  
"And where did you get that idea from? So, I went looking for my soul and I helped stop the world from ending a couple of times..." Spike stopped his train of thought and grunted. "Bloody soddin' wanker!" Spike nodded and sighed, before shifting straight into game face, with little to no difficulty. "See there? I'm still the big bad, no matter what you poufs say."  
  
Angel looked up at his childe and chuckled. "So, about this dream?"   
  
Spike, inadvertently, shivered and shifted back to his human façade. "No, Angelus. I can't."  
  
A knock on the door brought the conversation to a close, for the moment. "Come in."  
  
Cordelia walked in and was immediately taken back by the tension between Spike and Angel. "Whoa! I'm not Lorne, guys, but I can feel the tenseness rolling off of you two, in waves. Where is Lorne, by the way?"  
  
"He's been scouting out new places to have a club." Angel stated, without much thought.  
  
"Is he?" Spike huffed. "Since when?"  
  
Angel shrugged. "Since a couple of days ago. He said he was tired of leaching off of my hospitality."   
  
"Smart man." Spike grunted and pushed his way past Cordelia and through the door.   
  
Cordelia scowled after the blonde man and looked up at Angel. "What's wrong with him?"  
  
Angel shook his head. "He's having dreams."  
  
Cordelia grunted and crossed her arms across her chest. "What kind of dreams? Darla? Penn? Drusilla?"  
  
"Angelus."  
  
Cordelia opened her mouth and then, automatically, shut it. She didn't trust herself, when it came to conversations that dealt with Angelus. Angel didn't seem like he was going to proceed, so she decided to change her mind. "And?"  
  
Angel shrugged. "He won't tell me."  
  
"Well, make him tell you!" Cordelia was two steps away from stomping her foot and pushing Angel out the door, after Spike. "We need to know what's going on!"  
  
Angel narrowed his eyes at Cordelia and nodded. "That's what he said."  
  
"What?" Cordelia sighed.  
  
Angel chewed on his bottom lip and made his way out the door, after his childe.  
  
Cordelia gave in to her first notion and stomped her foot. "Ugh... You guys!" Cordelia grabbed her forehead and took a deep breath. Angel had better take care of this, she thought, sullenly.  
  
Angel looked around the lobby and, then up the stairs. "Spike?"  
  
Connor walked out of the kitchen and smiled at his dad. "He went upstairs. He said that he was going to go round up the troops and get his gear." Connor was carrying Skittles up on his shoulder and feeding it little bites from, what seemed to be, a peanut butter and jelly sandwich. "He still having those dreams?"  
  
Angel looked his son over and quirked an eyebrow. "What dreams? He's told you about his dreams?"  
  
Connor nodded, as he fed Skittles another small bite of sandwich. "Yes, you just never asked. I figured you didn't care."  
  
"Why wouldn't I care?" Angel felt like he was the only sane one left, in the Hyperion.  
  
Connor shrugged and pulled Skittles off of his shoulder, cradling him in his arms. He wriggled his finger in Skittles face and it batted at his hand. "Because the dreams were so impossible. He's worrying for nothing."  
  
"Worrying about what?" Angel took a couple of steps toward Connor and waited, patiently.  
  
Connor looked up into his dad's eyes and frowned. "You aren't worried about it, are you? It's not possible for you to turn back, is it?"  
  
Angel shook his head. "I don't think so. What was the dream about?"  
  
Connor put Skittles down on the ground and let him gallop around the floor, for a while. Apparently, it wanted to chase a fly that had gotten in, when the windows exploded. "He said that it starts off with you and him talking about something. Then, you..." Connor waved his hand in front of his face and bared his blunt human teeth. "...you know."  
  
Angel nodded and waited for Connor to go on.  
  
Connor sighed and watched Skittles jump up in the air, trapping the fly between his paws. "Apparently you jump behind him and grab some man. Then, you tear out his throat. After that you drop him to the ground and lunge at Spike. Spike said he usually wakes up, around that time."  
  
"I lunge at Spike?" Connor nodded and Angel thought, for a moment. "Does Spike think this dream is prophetic?"  
  
Connor nodded and pounced at his kitten, before it could start biting on a stray piece of glass that hadn't been picked up. "Bad kitty. You could have hurt yourself."  
  
A thought came to Angel and he grinned. "Of course." Angel sighed and looked back up the stairs. "I'm going to go get Spike and Lindsey. We have to have a quick conference before we go out and save this kid. Will you stay here and hold down the fort?"   
  
Connor nodded, as he held the kitten to his chest and thumped its nose, for biting him.   
  
"Why don't you call Fred, Gunn, and Wesley? Tell them what's going on. Gunn and Wesley may want to get in on the action and Fred would probably appreciate an update." Angel threw his son one last glance and headed up the stairs.  
  
TBC  
  
-So, I've been on a forced vacation. I am feeling much better and I have lots of story left in me... Please, don't hold this short sabbatical, against me.-  
  
--The subtitle was called Cat Scratch Fever, which is a song by Ted Nugent and a disease... I prefer the song to the disease.-- 


	11. Take a Look at My Girlfriend

I believe that it is painfully obvious from my writing that I am not Joss Whedon and therefore I do not own BTVS or AtS. Plus, the concept of owning people is so very outdated that it should be common knowledge that I do not own any of the people in my story (except for the ones that I made up and even they are only leased out to me, by my muse). Anyway, the idea was put forth by one of my favorite reviewers that I should have an update list... If you want to be on it, just say so and give me your address. You can email or review it to me. *grin* By the by, I am starving for the new season of Angel and I'm sure you are too. I'm really just writing so that I don't explode or implode, both of which are very nasty. So, I guess I should get...   
  
On with the show.  
  
::Carpe Diem- Take a Look at My Girlfriend::  
  
"This sucks." Gunn shivered and sighed. His shirt was plastered to his skin, with the rain that had just decided to drop from the skies, drenching anyone stupid enough to be outside in the middle of the night.  
  
Angel smiled and hugged his gun closer to his chest. "I could say something really clichéd and stupid, right now."  
  
Spike snorted. "And how would that be any different from every other moment you decide to open your mouth?"  
  
Angel smiled over at his childe, sweetly, and threw him a backward peace sign that offered very little peace.  
  
Gunn stifled a laugh and kept trekking down the alleyway, past his colleagues, and stopped at the corner to look back at the men.  
  
Spike quirked a brow at his sire and shook his head. "That gesture doesn't look good on you, Angel. I can do the best imitation of myself."  
  
"Not lately." Angel muttered, as he started after Gunn.  
  
Spike's jaw dropped. "What's that supposed to mean?"  
  
Gunn sighed and tried to keep his mind on the job at hand. It was really frustrating, listening to so much arguing. It almost made him miss Wesley being around. Wesley knew how to keep Spike's mind preoccupied, while not including Angel in their conversations would usually keep the arguing to a bear minimum. Gunn wasn't sure how to keep Spike busy, per se, but he knew how to change the subject. "Are vampires still considered mammals?"  
  
"What's that? Mammals?" Spike thought about it a moment and shrugged. "We don't exactly lactate. Or... at least I don't. Why do you ask?"  
  
Gunn sighed. Why had he asked? "I was just wondering because mammals are warm blooded and..." Gunn stopped and snorted. Did he really want to finish this conversation? It could go in some strange directions, he realized.   
  
Spike nodded. "I see what you're getting at. Our blood is kind of cold, right?" Spike pulled a cigarette out from his inside coat pocket and ignored the look Angel was giving him. "Well, our bodies are those of mammals but I wouldn't say that we are. Mammals have live young and feed them from there bodies. We don't exactly do those things."  
  
Angel sighed and shook his head. "Vampires are ethereal demons who need a human body to leach off of. The bodies are still mammals and yes, we do have young that we feed off of our bodies."  
  
"Not live young!" Spike threw his unlit cigarette down on the ground and stomped it. He had forgotten to bring a lighter along.  
  
"I did!" Angel shouted back at his childe.  
  
Spike sighed and growled. "Well, that's cause you're a bloody strange sod!"  
  
"Am not."  
  
"Are too."  
  
Angel stopped the trend that he and Spike were starting and decided to change the subject. "I figured out your dream. With a little help from Connor, of course."  
  
"Did you?" Spike asked, pretending he wasn't interested.  
  
"Yes, you think I'm going to turn back into Angelus and that my soul isn't safe..." Angel took an unneeded breath and was cut off by his childe.  
  
"Well la-dee-bloody-duh, Angel!"   
  
"...but you are wrong. There is no way I'm turning back into Angelus. The only way I would ever pounce at you was if you were in trouble. See Connor jumped on Skittles tonight to keep him from cutting up his mouth and it just seemed to click."  
  
"That's not it, Angel!" Spike insisted. "I felt you, in the dream! You were the soulless form of yourself!" Spike frowned and added. "I was afraid."  
  
"You were never afraid of me, before." Angel was confused. William the Bloody was afraid of him? He wasn't afraid of Angelus the Scourge of Europe, why would he be afraid of him... and in a dream?  
  
"You were not in control, Angel. Something sinister was." Spike sniffed. "You haven't been shacking up with little Miss Chase, have you?"  
  
Angel threw his childe a glare and shook his head. "Even if I had, I wouldn't tell you. It wouldn't matter, anyway. My soul is grounded."  
  
"Says you! What if you already Angelus?"   
  
"You're an idiot, you know that?"  
  
"Well, you're a pillock!"  
  
"Foolish child!"  
  
"Tosser!"  
  
Gunn grunted and pointed at his two pale counterparts. Gunn didn't allow the vampires to finish their thoughts, before starting in on them. "Would you two just shut up? I don't know what the hell is going on with you two, but I'm smart enough to see that it's killing the both of you." Gunn stopped and thought about that comment and added with a laugh. "Figuratively speaking, of course."   
  
Spike allowed himself a minute smile and nodded. "Of course."  
  
Gunn snorted and looked between the two vampires. "So, that it? Are we gonna' leave all of this arguing for y'all to deal with later? Andy is counting on us and I hate to say it, but Lindsey is gonna' need us to watch his back and we need to be there."  
  
"So speaks the voice of reason." Spike walked up to Gunn and patted the man's shoulder, before heading past him. "Where were you when I was screwing the slayer?"  
  
Angel stalked after his childe and grunted. "Do you have to bring that up *every* time you're annoyed with me?"  
  
Spike nodded. "Yup."  
  
Gunn rolled his eyes and followed after the two arguing men. This was going to be a long night.  
  
~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~* ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~   
  
"Let me get this straight. You want me to just stand out at this pay phone for the next fifteen minutes and I'll get the werewolf?" Lindsey was pissed. The man he was supposed to meet was not at the meeting spot. He was nearby, apparently. "You haven't harmed him, have you?" Lindsey barely stopped himself from hissing, when he realized his mistake. The man had never told him that his 'cargo' was male. Luckily, the man didn't seem to notice. "I'll be here. I brought my girlfriend, if that's all right with you. The wild animals kind of turn her on, you know what I mean?" Lindsey faked a masculine chuckle and crossed his eyes at Katie, who was giving him a wry grin. "Yeah, all right. I'll be her, with the money." Lindsey hung up the phone and grabbed Katie to him. He hugged her tightly and buried his face in her hair.  
  
Katie squeezed Lindsey back and sighed. "We're moving to Europe."  
  
Lindsey shook his head and pulled back. "Have you never seen An American Werewolf in Paris?"  
  
Katie grinned and looked around the area, hoping to catch a glimpse of Angel, Spike, or Gunn. They promised they would be close by, to make sure everything went okay.   
  
Lindsey leaned against the pole that the phone was bolted to and crossed his arms across his chest. "So, have you ever done this before?"  
  
Katie shrugged, nonchalantly. "Controlled a demon?" She nodded, thoughtfully. "Not hardly."  
  
Lindsey chuckled, nervously. "Are you going to be able to handle it?"  
  
"It's doable." Katie assured her fiancé. "If I have you nearby, I'm sure I'll be able to handle it."  
  
Lindsey took a deep breath and let it out in a sigh. "Who knew that a hair could do so much?"  
  
Katie shook her head and leaned against the poll that Lindsey was leaning on. "It's the whole DNA thing. You are so closely related to Andy and seeing as how you are without your own personal monster... It makes it all possible."  
  
Lindsey reached over and stroked Katie's hair. "You're kind of scary."  
  
Katie nodded. "I can be, but I love you. You are bound."  
  
"What does that mean?" Lindsey pulled back his hand and narrowed his gaze at Katie.   
  
"You are bound by my love. I can't hurt you...even if I truly wanted too. All of the old voodoo spells were mostly dealing with love, but it was wrong. Love-- true love-- is too pure to duplicate. That was always infatuation or lust. Love is binding."  
  
"Which is why you can't use his hair? I still don't get that."  
  
Katie nodded and chewed on her bottom lip. "It is difficult. Just know that my love for you, protects you from dark magic." Katie saw a small movement out of the corner of her eye and jumped.  
  
"Hello." A man with hair that brushed his shoulders, stepped out into the barely lit street. "I'm Mal. You must be Mister 'L'. You surely are shorter than you seemed over the phone." Mal looked over at Katie and smirked. "You must be the girlfriend. You are prettier than I expected. I'm not usually surprised." Mal stood there, hip cocked, smug expression sketched across his features. "You want the puppy and I want the money. I'll give you two guesses what order we are going to do this in."   
  
Lindsey nodded and pointed over at his truck. He motioned for the man to follow him and they took a walk to the nearly broken down vehicle. Lindsey pulled the front door open and reached into the floorboard. He pulled up a briefcase and opened it. It was full of twenties and fifties. "You want to count it, now?"  
  
Mal smirked and pulled the briefcase toward him, pushing Lindsey over to the side. He shuffled through the bills and flipped through a few stacks. He studied them, for a moment and grinned. "Unmarked bills... very good." Mal shut the case and sighed. "I think I'll try to trust you on the amount. If I find out it's wrong I'll be able to trace you." Mal stepped away from Lindsey's truck and shut the door. "I'm talented like that."  
  
Lindsey feigned a smile and nodded. "Good to know." He was fighting the urge to vomit. "So, where is my merchandise?"  
  
Mal looked Lindsey up and down and sniffed. "I don't like how nervous you are, my boy." Mal made a motion with his hand and smiled at Lindsey. "He's on his way."  
  
Lindsey nodded and looked around. A young man with broad shoulders and sad expression was carrying a large sack, draped over his shoulder.  
  
Mal motioned the young man over and pulled the sack away from him. "Slowly, boy." They lowered the sack and Mal opened the top, pulling the bag open, so that Lindsey could see a furry little head. "He's still breathing,-- still functioning the same, as when we got him. He's just tranquilized."  
  
Lindsey nodded and gave a small smile. "How did you find him? He's... beautiful." Lindsey hoped that Mal didn't notice the way his voice almost cracked.  
  
"Some woman had it hanging around and I promised to help take him off of her hands." Mal smiled, grimly. "It's almost funny. He almost killed her friend, when she was dropping him off. We fought off another set of werewolf hunters, to get him. It's my job and I love it. It's very exciting."  
  
Lindsey bent down and pet the fur that was open to him. "It doesn't bother you that he's a buy twenty-seven days of the month?" Lindsey looked up at Mal and caught the conspiratorially smile he was receiving. "It bothers some people, you know."  
  
Mal nodded. "The werewolf sympathizers. They make me sick. He's a monster. It's pure and simple." Mal pushed the bag with his foot and sniffed. "You may want to close that up. He should be waking up, soon."  
  
Lindsey nodded and pulled the bag toward him. "What do you think, Kate?"  
  
Katie sighed and nodded. She was speechless... which was bad. She stuck her hand in her pocket and pressed the cloth to her skin, trapping a lock of Lindsey's hair against her thigh. She started whispering a mantra and clenched her fist around the lock.   
  
The little bundle in the bag started shifting and Mal took a step back. "You should close the bag, now."  
  
Lindsey went to grab the bag and opened it wider. Andy shifted again and shook his head like a dog waking up from a deep sleep. How ironic, Lindsey thought. The only other thought he could pinpoint was, please work.  
  
Katie looked up and saw the horror in Mal's sideman's eyes. She could practically feel his terror. He was stepping back, away from Lindsey. Mal was motionless, except for the slow movement of his hand reaching into his coat and pulling out a gun. Katie couldn't risk yelling out, so she threw herself into Lindsey, knocking him to the ground and falling on top of him, chanting the whole time. Wake up Andy, her brain screamed out.  
  
Before Lindsey could realize what was going on, he had hit the ground. He looked up to find a gun pointed in his face and then... it was gone. Suddenly, the shooter, who happened to be Mal, was being lifted up into the air, by his neck.   
  
Mal dropped the gun and reached for the vice-like grip that held him in the air. He dropped his gaze and met a face made of fierce features and yellow eyes. He's going to kill me, was his last thought before his world went black.  
  
Lindsey lay there, stunned, as he watched Angel(us?) rip out his attacker's throat. The vampire's mouth was smeared in blood and Mal's head laid over to the side, as if it was only held on by rubber bands. "Katie?" He looked over and found Katie laying in a fetal position, chanting some language that resembled French. "Katie!" He shook her harshly, but she was relentless. "Katie, stop!"  
  
Spike watched his sire drop the man to the ground and sniff the air. He gasped when Angel turned his gaze toward him and stalked toward him, a snarl on his lips. It was his dream... damn it. He waited for the lunge and, at the last possible moment, he dodged over the side. He hit the ground in a roll and popped back up, onto his feet. He turned on his heels and was automatically in battle stance. What he saw when he turned around was even more surreal than he expected. What he expected was Angelus making another jump at his throat. What he didn't expect was Angelus buried in the neck of a squirming young man. Spike made a jump for Angel and yanked him off of the man. He pulled Angel's face up out of the man's artery and slapped him, with a crack, across his left cheek.  
  
Angel growled and sniffed the air. Something was lashing out at him. He was in a mental fog and something was hurting his family. He lunged forward and slammed his assailant, against the ground, hard enough to crack some major bones.  
  
"Katie, you must stop!" Lindsey yelled into the young woman's ear and was shocked to find himself thrown back, through the air.  
  
Gunn had seen everything happen and was stunned. They were all lucky he had been there. Andy had ripped his way out of his bag and it seemed that he was willing to jump onto the nearest bloodied corpse. Gunn had shot the young werewolf, successfully tranquilizing him once again, before he could create any real damage. Now, he sat petting the young wolf, as he watched Angel slam Spike's back against the concrete. This couldn't be real. Gunn picked up his gun and aimed the last dart at Angel's back. He hated doing it, but...   
  
It stopped. Angel's head cleared and he realized what was going on. "Will?" He looked at his childe's bleeding nose and frightened eyes and let out a gasp. "Spike?" Angel felt the stinging pain in his shoulder blade and drifted away into nothingness.  
  
TBC  
  
-Exciting, eh? I hate writing action scenes, but they are needed, no? Anyway, let me know what you think. *grin* Don't be too harsh.-  
  
--The subtitle was Take a Look at My Girlfriend, which is a song by Super Tramp. It is *so* good.- 


	12. Beyond the Yellow Brick Road

I do not own Angel of BTVS, but if I did BTVS would still be on the air and they would never have an off-season. I don't own most of the characters in this story, but if I did I would turn on and old Smith's album and play Twister with them. I don't own Joss Whedon, but if I did we wouldn't be waiting around for the next month and a half for a new episode of Angel. *takes a bow* Yes, you can applaud if you want to. I'm sure you all agree. Anyway, I should go ahead and let you all read this chapter, I guess. So...  
  
On with the show.  
  
::Carpe Diem- Beyond the Yellow Brick Road::  
  
Connor sat at the foot of the couch looking between his 'brother' and his dad. Spike was sprawled across the couch, trying his best not to move too much, and Angel was laid out on the floor. Gunn was crouched down pointing a dart gun at his chest. "I don't think that's necessary."   
  
Gunn grinned up at his young friend and shook his head. "You sure have changed a lot, since Spike came around. What was it that made the change? Spike or Skittles?"  
  
Connor's mouth twisted up in a wry smirk. "Paxil... Now, could you stop pointing a tranquilizer at my dad's heart?"  
  
Gunn lowered his firearm and sat back on his haunches. "How's it going with the books?"  
  
Katie was shuffling through the pages of a book, in the corner, muttering about magic and the problems of the world. Fred and Cordelia were at her side, agreeing with whatever she had said.   
  
Gunn pushed himself up off of the ground and looked over at the women. "Ladies? The books?"  
  
Wesley walked out of the office and shut the door behind him. "What happened to Angel's desk?" Wesley looked over at Gunn, who only shrugged.   
  
Connor winced, as he watched Spike try to sit up. The vampire was breathing hard, when he shouldn't be breathing, at all. "You want some Tylenol?"  
  
Spike shook his head and grunted. "I want you to stake me."  
  
"Not gonna' happen." Connor chuckled. "Angel would whip me up and down, if he woke up and found you as a pile of dust."  
  
"It's his fault I wanna' turn dusty." Spike groaned and slumped against the arm of the couch. He was finally sitting up, on his own. The blood he had drunk, when they had brought him in, must have started working. "I've had broken ribs before, mind you. I'm pretty sure they never punctured a lung, though."  
  
"Are you sure it's punctured?" Connor asked, worry sketched across his face.  
  
Spike nodded. "I'm coughing up blood. It's either the lungs or the stomach and if my knowledge on the human anatomy serves me well, broken ribs can puncture the lungs faster than they can the stomach." Spike coughed and swallowed. "It's better the first time."  
  
Gunn winced and took a walk over toward the counter that the women sat behind. "Eww..."  
  
Spike shrugged and sighed. "How are the books, girls?"  
  
Fred stood up, from her seat, and made her way past Gunn, toward the vampire on the couch. He scooted over a little, so she could sit and show him a passage. "You see there? I've been reading up on your blood line." She smiled at Spike. "You were kind of scary, before you went all gung-ho on the good guy side."  
  
Spike nodded. "That's the story of our line. Scary bad men-- and/or women-- go gung-ho for good, or die."  
  
Fred smirked. "Sounds like your taking out an ad in the paper."  
  
Spike chuckled. "Pretty creepy ad, if you ask me."  
  
"I'd answer it." Fred turned a pretty shade of pink and cleared her throat. "You can always use another good guy, around." Fred pushed herself up from her seat and straightened her skirt.  
  
Spike watched the girl get up from his side and smiled at her, sadly. "What if I'm one of the ones who just die?"  
  
Fred shook her head, resolutely. "It's not gonna' happen. Angel wouldn't allow it."  
  
Spike nodded, solemnly, and looked over at his sire, who lay on the floor, unmoving. "I want Katie to tell me about this spell she did."  
  
Fred nodded and returned to her place, next to the other women. She told Katie that Spike wanted her and the young woman straightened her ponytail, as she made her way over to Spike's side. She scratched the back of her neck, nervously, and sighed, before taking the seat Spike offered at his side. "Something happened."  
  
"I'd call that a definite understatement." Spike smirked at the woman and placed his hands behind his head, resting on them. "Now, tell me about this voodoo that you do, so well."  
  
Katie sighed and shrugged. "I don't know what happened." Katie tried counting out the different possibilities on her fingers. "It could have been a mistake in wording. I have gotten tongue tied in the past and said something else, than what I originally meant to say." Katie took a breath and continued. "Then, it could have not worked on Andy cause he was drugged, but then, how would that explain Angel getting sucked into it?" Katie huffed. "There is always the option that I had another hair mixed in with Lindsey's, but your friend would have had to get really close-- and I mean *really* close-- to shed on him."  
  
Spike quirked an eyebrow and hummed.   
  
Katie shot him a glance. "What does 'hmm' mean?"  
  
"Angel's an ass." Spike nodded, confirming his statement.  
  
Katie cleared her throat and leaned her elbows on her knees. "You want to expound on that statement?"  
  
Spike shook his head. "No need to really. I'm not exactly sure how it all played out, but I did walk in on Angel, when he was getting up in Lindsey's face, earlier tonight." Spike shot Katie a sly grin. "Those men... what are we going to do with them."  
  
Katie rubbed her temples and shook her head. "After all the crap mine has put me through in the last few days, I'm whipping mine and sending him to bed, without supper. Then, I'll focus on getting to know Andy."  
  
Spike shook his head and muttered archly. "I'd like to see how Angel would react if I tried to pull the old sire act on him. You are a fool child, Angelus. You should take better care of your soul. Whack, whack." Spike smacked his hand through the air a couple of times and grinned over at Katie, who giggled.  
  
"Isn't hitting me once tonight, enough for you?"   
  
Spike looked over at Angel, who had pushed himself up, into a sitting position. "You remember me hitting you?"  
  
Angel shook his head and rubbed the base of his skull. "No, but my cheek does. It stings pretty bad. It was you that hit me, right?"  
  
Spike shook his head. "I don't know what you are talking about."  
  
Connor and Angel, both, shot Spike a look that screamed, 'yeah right'.   
  
Spike looked between the two and grinned. "What?"  
  
Katie sighed and stood up. "I wonder when Lindsey will feel like getting up."  
  
Connor smiled sweetly at the woman and shrugged. "He was only knocked out. There doesn't seem to be a concussion.   
  
Spike shook his head. "He's the luckiest sod, I've ever seen."  
  
Katie shook her head. "Spike, he was knocked out twice in one day."  
  
Spike nodded. "And he's been fine, both times. Says something about how bloody stubborn a man can be."  
  
"Especially that man." Angel added.   
  
Katie nodded, in agreement. "He can be pretty stubborn."  
  
"Who can?" Lindsey had been standing on the top stair for the last half minute, listening to the others talk. He knew that they had been talking about him, but he just felt like needling them, anyway. He took slow steps down the stairs and leaned against the railing.  
  
"The Brave Little Toaster." Spike stated, before sucking on the insides of his cheeks, making him look more hollowed than usual. "He's a pretty bolshie lil' fellow. Makes for a good movie, though."  
  
"Bolshie?" Angel quirked a brow at his childe and then shot Connor a look. "I don't even know what that one means."  
  
Connor shrugged. "I suppose you have to look at the content that was in the sentence. It was about a brave kitchen appliance... Maybe it means brave?"  
  
Katie glanced up at Lindsey and then away again. She felt so bad for all the pain she had caused him. She couldn't even work up the courage to look him full on, in the eye.  
  
"'Brave kitchen appliance', he says." Spike's lip turned up and he shook his head, in disgust. "What do they teach kid's in school, nowadays? Bolshie is an English word, thank you so bloody much! It means stubborn or unyielding... The Brave Little Toaster is only the best musical ever written."  
  
Angel smirked and shook his head. "I didn't go to school, 'nowadays'. Neither did Conner."  
  
"Plus, a musical about a toaster?" Connor sneered. "Who would be stupid enough to dress up like a toaster and sing?"  
  
Spike's jaw dropped. "It's a cartoon!"  
  
Lindsey cleared his throat, in an attempt to stop the insanity that was trying to ensue. It didn't work. The three men, of the Aurelius bloodline, were still arguing among themselves. So, Lindsey tried it again, but to no avail.  
  
Cordelia had been watching the scene, and had taken the man's plight into account. She definitely pitied him. He had been knocked out, twice in one day, and neither o the two people who did the knocking out was paying him quite enough attention. She picked up a book and drew it back.   
  
Gunn held up his hand and beckoned Cordelia to hand the book over. "Please, allow me." Cordelia handed him the book and he turned to access his target. When he was satisfied, he drew his hand back and shot it forward, toward the man he had singled out.  
  
"Damnú ort!" Angel jumped up from his seat, on the floor, and searched the room, for his attacker. Gunn's eyes had gone pretty wide, he realized, and Cordelia was laughing behind her hand. "Gunn? Cordy?" The two pointed at each other and Angel nodded. "I see."  
  
"Hey, when you start cussing in other languages, people sit up and take notice." Spike grinned at the red that had flushed to his sire's face. He must have eaten something before we left, Spike thought idly.  
  
Lindsey sighed and took a seat on the bottom step. "I think they were just trying to assist me, in getting some attention." Lindsey laid his head in his hands and took a deep breath.  
  
Katie looked over at Lindsey and took in the slump of his shoulders and the heavy sigh, he let out. She got up and walked over to where Lindsey was sitting. She took a seat next to him and slipped her arms around his shoulders. "What is it, baby?" She whispered into Lindsey's short cropped hair.  
  
"Andy..." Lindsey took another breath and shook his head. "Amelie was the one who gave him to that man. She gave our son to that man!" Lindsey growled into his palms. "We have got to pay her back."  
  
"Wait until tomorrow, Linds." Katie grabbed a lock of Lindsey's hair and tugged, softly. He looked up at her and smiled. "You'll be thinking more clearly, then."  
  
Lindsey nodded. "Tomorrow, then." Lindsey snuggled into Katie's embrace and sighed. "Tomorrow."  
  
~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~   
  
Spike wheezed, as he made his way up the stairs of the apartment building. "Couldn't you pay for her to have an apartment in the shorter part of town? Maybe you could have springed for a building that had an elevator." Spike asked Lindsey, while he bent over to catch his breath.  
  
Lindsey grunted. "I just signed the checks." He walked past Spike and  
  
Angel stopped to give Spike a little push and waited for him to start back up the stairs. "You didn't have to come, you know." He followed his childe, closely, up the steps, in case he fell backward.  
  
"What?" Spike hissed. "And let you have all the fun, without me? You have got to be joking. Tell me that you are joshin' with me, Angelus."  
  
Angel chuckled. "I'm 'joshin' with you."  
  
Lindsey had reached the door of his ex-wife and waited outside, in the hall. Spike and Angel made their way up the stairs, slowly. He wasn't in a hurry. He really wanted to take his time, actually. Now, that he knew Andy was fine and safe at home, with Katie, he knew everything would be all right, where it counted.   
  
Spike reached the top of the stairs, Angel right on his tail. "We gonna' wait out here, or are we gonna' bust in and bust her up?"  
  
Angel 'tsked' Spike, quietly enough that only he could hear.   
  
Lindsey shrugged and reached for the door. He knocked, loudly, and took a step back, so Amelie wouldn't b able to see him, if she looked out the peephole.  
  
The door opened up and laughter filled the air. A young woman, with a phone pressed to her ear, opened the door and peered out at Lindsey. She made an inaudible gasp and muttered. "I'll call you back." She hung up the phone and screeched. "You aren't supposed to be here!"  
  
Lindsey shook his head. "Neither are you. Where's mommy?"  
  
Missy looked past Lindsey and almost choked. It was the two vampires. "They aren't going to hurt me, are they?"  
  
Lindsey shook his head, again. "No, but I might, if you don't cooperate."  
  
Missy nodded and sighed. "Come in, Lindsey." Missy took a step back and let Lindsey in. Spike and Angel stood in the doorway.  
  
Lindsey pushed past the woman and looked down the hallway, while pointing over his shoulder, with his thumb. "Invite them in."  
  
Missy 'hmphed' and sighed. "Come in, then."  
  
Spike and Angel took a few steps into the apartment and Missy shut the door behind them. Spike grunted. "Where is the bint?" Spike looked over at Missy and the young woman shrugged. Spike nodded. "I'm sure you have no clue."  
  
"She doesn't tell me everything." Missy informed the men, as she crossed her arms across her chest. "So, why are you guys here, anyway?"   
  
"Oh..." Lindsey grinned at Missy, in a nasty fashion. "We found out about your little plot to sell my son. Oh, yeah... Did I mention that we got him back and I'm keeping him?"  
  
Missy gaped and jumped for the door. Angel barred her way and grunted when the young woman fell in his arms. Angel tried lifting her up and realized she was crying.   
  
"I didn't mean to hurt anyone. I would never hurt anyone, on purpose. She promised to take care of me. She said that I would finally be safe." Missy looked up into Angel's face and sobbed. "I'm sorry. Andy is a good kid. I never wanted to send him away, but she said it was the o..." A loud sound, like the back-fire off of Lindsey's truck, broke through the air. Missy looked down at her chest and hissed.  
  
Angel watched the color drain from Missy's face and shook his head, in horror. She slid from his grip and fell to the floor, a dead weight. He looked at the front of his shirt and realized he was covered in blood. Missy's blood... and his. Angel looked up and saw a streak of color, zipping through the hallway. "Lindsey, it's her!"   
  
Lindsey jerked his head toward the hallway and made a run for his ex-wife.  
  
"Be careful!" Angel yelled after him. "She may still have her weapon." Angel shook his head. "Never thought I'd be warning Lindsey against danger." Angel leaned down, on his knees, and ran his hand over Missy's features. She was still breathing, but very slowly.  
  
Spike shook his head and fell down, at Angel's side. "Whose fault is this?"  
  
Angel shot his childe a look. "Amelie's."  
  
"No, not the gun shot." Spike murmered. "I mean... all of it."  
  
"I don't know." Angel sighed and grabbed at his chest. "But I'm gonna' hit 'em, when I figure it out."  
  
TBC  
  
-How pissy and sad was that? Pretty pissy and sad, if I do say so myself.-  
  
--The subtitle was Beyond the Yellow Brick Road, which is an album by Elton John. It's so good and I really felt that it fit this chapter.-- 


	13. Tie Your Mother Down

I don't own AtS or BTVS. I would pay a million bazillion dollars for them, but seeing as how I don't get my paycheck 'til Monday and it won't be half that much, I'll have to pass on the opportunity. I don't own most of the characters in this story, but it seems that I may be killing the ones I don own off, one by one. (I suppose, in that light, it's a good thing I don't own the other characters, eh?) Joss Whedon is the man and I am just... a women? Hmm... I don't think that Politically Correct Americanites would appreciate that sentiment, so I'll just pretend I didn't really think it. Anyway, that seems to be a good enough disclaimer and I think you all get the picture. So, I guess we'll just get...  
  
On with the show.  
  
::Carpe Diem- Tie Your Mother Down::  
  
They found Lindsey, fifteen minutes later, in the alley, leaning over Amelie's unmoving form. Her gun was lying, at her side, and she was sprawled out, on her stomach, her skirt hitched up around her thighs. Lindsey sneered down at her. "She passed out, the moment she stumbled off of the fire escape. I didn't get the chance to knock her out. She just toppled over, face first."  
  
Spike limped up to Lindsey's side and sniffed the air. "I'm no doctor, but I wouldn't be surprised if we found out she had overdosed."   
  
Angel stood back in the darker shadows, Missy cradled against his chest. "Maybe we should get both women to the hospital." Angel hugged Missy to him, when she began to tremble, violently. "We need to go, now." Angel looked down at the woman in his arms and shook his head. What had brought her so far down this path?  
  
Spike looked over at his sire and shook his head. "Angel, she is still the bad guy. Not saying we need to let her die or anything, but you really shouldn't be looking at her in that 'let's get redeemed together' sort of way." Spike grinned and hobbled over to the older vampire. "Having one pupil isn't enough, old man?"  
  
Angel sighed and turned toward the street, where the car was parked, nearby. "Lindsey, go get the car and bring it back here. We'll load up the women and make our way down to the hospital. On the way, we'll call the police and say that there has been a shooting. Then, we'll head on, back to the hotel. There won't be any need to just sit around, while they pump her stomach and she gets arrested."   
  
Spike pulled Angel's car keys out of his pocket and something fell out, along side. A piece of folded paper fell to the ground. Spike handed Lindsey the keys and bent down to pick up the paper. He shooed Lindsey away and waited until the man turned the corner, heading out into the sunny streets. "What's this?" Spike unfolded the paper, even as Angel started to protest. The paper happened to be a picture. It was a drawing... of him. It was pretty recent and it was obvious who the artist was. "Pretty." Spike just had to comment. That's what Spike did. He was a commenter. "My hair's kinda' froofy, though."  
  
  
  
"Yes, it is." Angel muttered. "Give that back."  
  
"I'm not done lookin', Mr. Grabby Hands. Or, at least, you would be, if your hands weren't so occupied, with the holding of princess, there." Spike turned the picture sideways and upside down. "Which side do you think is the better, of my two sides?"  
  
"Your right side." Angel didn't even hesitate. "Hand it over, boy."  
  
"Eh, eh, eh..." Spike tutted. "No pulling of sire shit, right now, Angel." Spike turned the picture, back the way it was supposed to be. "It is rather good, in all honesty."  
  
"Thank you." Angel looked down the alleyway and wondered what was taking Lindsey so long. He had been a speed demon, on the way over to the apartment building. Why was it, when he actually needed him, Lindsey wasn't there?  
  
Spike hummed, in appreciation. "Well, you did have a wonderful model. Where ever did you find such a lovely creature?" Spike cooed. He felt rather pleased, with how embarrassed Angel seemed to be.  
  
Angel growled. "In the scummy streets, of London." Angel sighed, when he saw the wry amusement, written across Spike's face. "Can I have it back, now?"   
  
Spike looked thoughtful, for a moment. "Nope." Spike shook his head, as he folded the paper up and shoved it in his back pocket. "You can try stealing it back from me..." Spike quirked a brow at his sire and grinned. "...but you may lose a hand."   
  
Angel grunted and shook his head. He muttered something that sounded an awful lot like 'stew pig', which only succeeded in making Spike burst out laughing. "I'll get it back, you know."  
  
Spike grabbed his own backside and grinned. "I'll carry it with me, always."  
  
Angel lowered his brows and sniffed. "Jerk."  
  
"I'm gonna' make a song about you, Angelus. It's gonna' go something like..." Spike started bopping his head and hummed a very random sounding punk song. He started singing in estranged bursts. "Obsessive Mr. Hoodwink... ba dum, da da dum... Don't look at me so strangely... ba dum, da da dum... If I give you a cookie, will you stop starring at my neck?" Spike banged his head, softly, and grinned. His fangs seemed to glisten in the half-light.   
  
Angel had to laugh. It was really against his nature to humor such insubordination, but the truth was... it was funny. Spike was just messing with him. He wanted to get his mind off of the dying girl, who was bleeding all over his shirt... Well, things were suddenly not funny, anymore. "Angel leaned his back against the wall, next to him. "Lindsey is being very slow."  
  
"Hey, that's a great idea, Angel. Let's play the states-the-obvious game. Well, for your first turn you get ten points, cause that was *really* obvious comment. Me next... Your hair is getting shaggy." Spike grinned, pleased with himself. Angel looked just about ready to drop Missy and run his fingers through his hair. "I get fifteen points. Your turn."  
  
Angel shook his head and grunted. "You're so stupid."  
  
Spike frowned. "Well, come on, Angel. You gotta', at least, try. It's no fun, unless you try to come up with a creative one that's still obvious. 'You're stupid' and 'you're an ass' is child's play."  
  
Angel tossed Spike a look that resembled elitist pride. "If I ever heard my child calling someone an ass, I'd smack them across the mouth."  
  
Spike grinned. "You're such an ass, Angel."  
  
Angel frowned. What had he said? He looked up, in confusion, at his... childe. Angel chuckled. Okay, he got the joke. Ha ha. "How very ultra-witty of you, Spike."  
  
"Ah... you get twenty points. That statement was obvious and complimentary." Spike slumped down on the wall and hissed. "I bet that I would be pissing blood, if I pissed."  
  
"Do you take in enough liquids to do that?" Angel threw his childe a look and sneered.  
  
Spike shook his head. "I used to, but tea isn't really a favorite of mine, right now. I'm going for the taste of maple syrup and all of its goodness and it isn't liquid enough to be turned into..." Spike shrugged. "...liquid."  
  
Angel nodded. "I was wondering, cause I haven't been keeping your bathroom stocked with toiletries."  
  
Spike cut a glance at Angel and shook his head. "You just shake it, Angel. It hasn't been so long, that you've forgotten, has it?"  
  
Angel grinned. "No, it hasn't. I remember that, well enough."  
  
Spike shrugged. "Anyway, I would just go in the shower."  
  
Angel sneered. "Ugh..."  
  
Spike laughed and gave a slight cough/sigh. "The pipes all run to the same place, ya' know."  
  
Angel grunted. "Still..."  
  
There was a squeal, from the far end of the alleyway, which made both Angel and Spike bolt upright and take notice. Lindsey pulled into the darkened alley and pulled to an abrupt stop. He put the large car into park and swung the door open. Lindsey stepped out of the car and leaned on the open door. "Well, come on. We need to get them..." Lindsey pointed at the two women. "...to the hospital."  
  
Spike grinned over at Angel, as he bent down to lift up Amelie. "I'd say he gets a whole forty points, for that one."   
  
~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~   
  
"The doctors didn't see much hope for her." Lindsey tried explaining to the child. "She may go..." Lindsey gulped and bit back a laugh. "...to be with the angels, soon."  
  
Andy nodded his head, thoughtfully. "How did she get so sick? She was fine, the last time I saw her." Andy sniffled. "That was a long time ago." The little boy balled up his fists and rubbed the little droplets of tears that were forming in the corners of his eyes. "Can I see her before she leaves us?"  
  
Lindsey thought for a moment and nodded. "I'll try to take you to see her, as soon as the sun rises tomorrow. Is that okay?"  
  
Andy nodded. "I don't really want to know why she's died so fast, do I Uncle Lindsey?"  
  
Lindsey mentally cursed his ex-wife. "I haven't done a good job of explaining everything to you, have I?"  
  
Andy nodded. "Mommy is sick and Missy might die."  
  
"Yes." Lindsey shook his head. "I don't think you got the, me being your daddy part, though."  
  
Andy sighed. "You can't be my daddy, if you are my uncle. That's just silly."   
  
"Not in some parts of Alabama and Arkansas." Spike piped in.  
  
Lindsey shot Spike a look, which would have caused most men to whither, in response. "Why did I even let you stay in here? I shouldn't have believed you, when you said you wouldn't interfere."'  
  
Spike looked abashed. "What interfering? Look at me and watch all of the non-interfering that I'm doing! I just want to give you a few pointers in talking to kiddies." Spike sat back in his seat and sighed. He was enjoying the heat pack that Fred had made up for him, a couple of minutes after he had come in, sat down, and downed a cold bag of blood. It rested at the base of his spine, where it wasn't really needed most. He just couldn't figure out how to keep it on his ribcage, without having to hold it there. He had put the thought across to Connor about inventing some sort of sling, for heat/ice packs. Connor had jumped up and ran to his room. The boy was a genius, he thought proudly.  
  
"Giving advice is just a softer form of interfering." Lindsey grunted.  
  
Spike nodded. "Well, then you need a little interference, cause you suck at talking to children." Spike grinned. "I bet you haven't changed a nappy, in your entire life."  
  
"Oh, and you have?" Lindsey asked, only half-interested.  
  
Spike shrugged. "You would be surprised at some of the things that I've done."  
  
"Doubt it." Lindsey pouted, as he leaned on his hands, elbows resting on his knees.  
  
Andy watched Lindsey frown and sighed, a little kid sigh. "It's okay, Uncle Daddy. I still love you, even if you can't change out napkins."  
  
Spike tried not to laugh loud enough to cause the child distress. It was just so funny. "Well, 'Uncle Daddy'... Do you want my help, now?"  
  
Lindsey nodded, solemnly, and stared into those large Carmel eyes that watched Spike so intently.   
  
Spike was looking at the boy, with a big, goofy grin stretched across his face. "Hi, kid, I'm Spike." Spike stuck out his hand and the boy took it, with a grin of his own. They shook hands and Spike let the little, sticky grasp go, with a groan. "You kids are so gross. Watcha' been eatin'?"  
  
Andy looked down at his fingers and shrugged. He licked the palm of his hand, experimentally, and grinned. "Oh, that was a grape 'plopsicle'. Cordelia gave me one. She said I could have anything I wanted, as long as Katie said it was all right. I like her."   
  
"Cordelia?" Spike asked. "She's an all right bird, I guess."  
  
Andy shook his head so hard that his hair swayed side to side, across his eyes. "No. I mean... she is nice." Andy confirmed the statement, with a nod from Spike. "Katie is too, though. Nice, I mean." Andy thought, for a second. "She isn't pretty, though."  
  
"She isn't?" Lindsey asked, the confusion evident, in his voice.  
  
Andy sighed. "Nope." He wiped his nose, which had started running, with the back of his palm. This motion had caused Spike to cringe. Andy noticed. "What?" He wiped his hand on his jeans and shrugged. "It's all better, now."  
  
Spike nodded. Yeah, and he was the queen of Scotland. He had shaken hands with that grimy little munchkin and he was two seconds away from running to the bathroom and cleansing his undead skin.  
  
"Your kinda' silly." Andy sighed and looked back at Lindsey. "Katie is sexy."  
  
Lindsey's mouth dropped open. "She's... what?"  
  
"She's the kind that guys wanna' stick." Andy smiled up at Lindsey, innocently. "What does that mean?" He bit his lip and let out a sigh. "Stick what?"  
  
Lindsey pointed at Spike, who was laughing uncontrollably, at this time, and then glanced back down at the confused little boy. "Where did you here that?"  
  
"Wesley and Gunn were laughing and making the girls squeal, earlier, while I was sitting on the counter, eating my 'plopsicle'. Is it not funny?" Andy looked over at Spike and back at Lindsey. "Spike thinks it's funny. He hasn't stopped laughing, yet."  
  
"It's not funny, when little boys say it." Lindsey muttered.  
  
Spike shook his head. "It's funnier, when little boys say it." Spike interjected.  
  
Lindsey bent down and picked up Andy, tossing him over his shoulder. The little boy giggled, wildly, and Lindsey shot Spike a neat little bird, with his free hand. "Thanks for all of that non-interfering, Spike. I really appreciate it." Lindsey turned around and opened the door of the bedroom, they had been occupying, making his way out into the hall.  
  
Spike leaned further into his chair and sighed. He tried to act like he felt ashamed, but realized there was nobody to pretend for. He burst out laughing and gasped at the pain it caused, in his sides. He grabbed his side and laughed some more.  
  
Angel walked into he room and saw Spike bent double, in the chair next to his bed, gasping and gripping at his ribs. "What's so funny, Spike?"  
  
Spike looked up at his sire and shook his head. "Gunn and Wesley are gonna' get the crap wussy slapped out of them."  
  
Angel nodded and gnawed on his bottom lip. "That's nice."  
  
TBC  
  
-Kinda' short chapter I know, but I got it out fast. Now, be a bunch of darlings and review!-  
  
--The subtitle was Tie Your Mother Down, which is a song by Queen. They are the best band ever. Just so you know, if you didn't already.-- 


	14. El Diablo

I don't own BTVS or AtS. *whimper* I don't own most of the characters in this story... although, I -do- claim Skittles and Andy just cause I plain out like 'em. (Gah! I sounded Southern, when I said that.) Anyway, Joss Whedon's wit and intelligent writing are what keeps me trapped in these stories, and Freddie Mercury's voice and brilliant compositions are what sustain me, when I don't take it upon myself to sit down and write. You, 'the reviewers', are what keep me writing, on the whole. *takes a sweeping bow* Thank you. Anyway, I've had a couple of you request for more backstory and... Well, the customer is always right? Hmm... So, we shall be getting...  
  
On with the show.  
  
::Carpe Diem- El Diablo::  
  
Lindsey watched the reunion of Missy and his son. He was torn between snatching the little boy away from her slowly breathing form or letting him continue with the story of his ordeal. He knew that, most likely, no matter what the doctors had said to ease the child's mind, Missy didn't comprehend one thing Andy was babbling about. His only hope was that she could and that she would feel a gut wrenching guilt for letting him go through all of the pain, he had. "Andy, we should probably go, now. Missy should probably have some quiet."  
  
Andy sighed and nodded. "Can we go see mommy?"  
  
Lindsey almost snapped at Andy for considering such a thing, but then he realized that he had promised his son that they would see her today. "All right..." Lindsey agreed. "...but when I say it's time to leave, I mean it." Andy nodded, in understanding and reached up for Lindsey. Lindsey leaned down and picked up the little boy, with hardly a thought.  
  
It was coming so natural to just love the child. Lindsey swung Andy around on his back, so that he was piggybacking. He wondered what he ad been thinking, leaving in the first place. Lindsey walked out of the hospital room and headed down the hallway, toward the wing they had put Amelie in.  
  
"How was I, last night?"  
  
The question took Lindsey by surprise. "What do you mean, Andy?"  
  
"You know what I mean." Andy growled in Lindsey's ear, making the older man chuckle.  
  
"Oh..." Lindsey shrugged and hopped Andy up, higher on his back. "You were..." Lindsey tossed his head from left to right, in an undecided manner. "...okay."  
  
Andy bit his bottom lip and started to chew. "Just okay? I didn't eat anybody did I?"  
  
Lindsey shook his head. "Not anybody of importance."   
  
Andy scrunched up his little forehead and snorted. "You're teasing me, aren't you Uncle Lindsey?" It was more of an accusation, than a question. The boy was pretty swift.  
  
Lindsey shook his head. "No, I'm not. You didn't eat anyone important. In fact you didn't eat anyone, at all. You were really well behaved."  
  
"I woke up in a bed." Andy recounted to Lindsey, for the fourth time this morning.  
  
"You sure did." Lindsey nodded. "No, son of mine is going to wake up behind metal bars, if I have anything to do with it.. That means you can't get arrested, ever. Okay?"  
  
Andy sighed and nuzzled the back of Lindsey's hair. "I won't, if you won 't."  
  
Lindsey grinned. "It's a deal."  
  
"Katie said we are going to go back to where she came from, for a visit. She said that there was a nice lady I needed to meet. Also, said there were lots of kids for me to schmooze with." Andy paused for a second. "What does schmooze mean?"  
  
Lindsey chuckled. "It means to make friends and meet people."  
  
"Why didn't she just say that, then?" Andy inquired.  
  
"She was being silly." Lindsey sighed. "Here we are." Lindsey stopped in front of the door that indicated quarantined patients. They had been keeping Amelie in there, under guarded watch and lock and key. The cops had come by and questioned Lindsey about his relation to the patient and whether he had seen the shooting. He answered all of their questions and headed home, the moment that they were finished. He had old them that he may bring his and Amelie's son by, the next day. They had agreed that the child should be able to see his mother and would be allowed a ten-minute visit. "If that much." Lindsey had muttered.   
  
"How do we get in?" Andy asked, quietly.  
  
Lindsey knocked on the small rectangular window, in the middle of the door and waited. A buzzing sound filled the air and a nurse, with a clipboard, walked out of the door. She gave Lindsey an easy smile and then looked up at Andy, with a frown. "He can't come in here, sir." The woman was whispering, as if that made Andy automatically incapable of understanding English.   
  
"Daddy, you said I could see mommy today."   
  
Lindsey looked back at Andy's stricken face and tear filled eyes and then glared at the nurse that stood in between him and his son's happiness. Andy had called him daddy. He would have ripped the woman's head off, if he thought it would make the child say it again. Of course, then it would probably be said in horror. He didn't want that. "Look..." Lindsey struggled to sound understanding. "The child wants to see his mother. I only want to make him happy, you see. The police said it would be okay if we had a ten-minute visit and I'm going to hold them to it. Do you understand?" Lindsey narrowed his eyes at the woman and smiled, when she nodded and looked at her clipboard.  
  
"Your name, sir?" The woman flipped a page on the board and sighed, quietly.  
  
"Lindsey McDonald. This little man is Andy McDonald." Lindsey popped Andy up, again, causing him to giggle.  
  
The woman nodded gravely and looked at the two, before waving them inside. "Follow me."  
  
"That's all right." Lindsey said. "Unless they moved her, I know where she is staying. Thanks, anyway." The woman gave Lindsey a look that made her look worn and beaten. Working in a quarantined area, of a hospital, would probably do that to anyone, Lindsey mused. Lindsey watched the woman make her way behind her counter and started for the door down the hallway, which was being stood watch over. The man outside the door was reading a magazine, with Ben and J-Lo on the front, and drinking a coffee, when Lindsey stopped in front of him. "Hello, officer."  
  
"Lindsey McDonald?" The man asked, without tearing his eyes from the magazine.   
  
"Yes." Lindsey said, a tone of amusement drifting into his voice. Everyone was so interested in this couple of beautiful yuppies, who just happened to be famous. Would they still? Would they not? Who knew? Who cared? "I'm Lindsey."  
  
"Got your boy?" The man asked, while flipping the page.  
  
Lindsey sighed. "No, but I have my pet zebra, if you want to pat him down."  
  
"That won't be necessary." The man muttered, without any indication of whether he had understood what Lindsey had just said. "Go on in."  
  
Lindsey took a step into the hospital room and looked over to the bed, on the right hand wall. Amelie strapped down to it and hooked up to a number of machines.  
  
"Lindsey?" Andy whispered in Lindsey's ear. "Why does mommy look worse than Missy?"  
  
"Mommy took too much medicine and it made her very sick. They had to vacuum out her insides, so that she wouldn't die. She's going to be okay, though. She should be able to wake up, by now. Do you want to get down and go talk to her?" Lindsey didn't want to let his son down, but he knew that the boy had a right to go speak with his mother.  
  
Andy nodded and Lindsey let him slip down his back. "You'll stay with me, won't you?"  
  
Lindsey nodded. "Always and forever, baby boy."  
  
Andy smiled up at Lindsey. Then, he turned toward his mother and took a few tentative steps toward her bed. "Mommy?"  
  
Amelie stirred and her eyes fluttered open. "Andy?"  
  
"Mommy!" Andy jumped toward his mother and squeezed her as tightly as he could manage.  
  
Amelie groaned in pain. She couldn't throw the boy off, because her arms were immobile. Plus, she was under the influence of way too many drugs. If she could have pushed him away, though, she would have done just that. "Andy, baby, mommy is hurting."  
  
Andy gasped and jumped back away, from his mother. "I'm sawwy." Andy turned toward Lindsey and buried his face in the man's leg.   
  
Lindsey made a displeased sound and grunted. "Amelie, you *will* be nice to our son."   
  
Amelie's eyes widened in recognition. "Lindsey?"  
  
"Yes." Lindsey stroked the back of his son's head and met eyes with his ex-wife.  
  
Amelie nodded and sighed. "Andy, honey, come to mommy. Tell me about how your day has been."  
  
Andy turned back to his mother and slowly made his way to her side. She reached up to stroke his face andhe nuzzled into the caress. "I went and saw Missy. She's prolly gonna' die."  
  
Lindsey sat down in a chair and watched Amelie pretend to care about Andy's stories. He shook his head, in wonder, at how such an amazing little child, could come from such a horrible pair of people. Lindsey could hardly remember what had gotten them to this point in their lives, but he knew that he couldn't regret it, every time he looked at his son. Lindsey listened to the droning conversation between Amelie and Andy and remembered back to what had gotten them here. The story of how they came to be.  
  
~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~* ~ * ~ * ~   
  
She had been sitting on the step of the court building, starring at a piece of paper, clutched in her hands. Her hair was beautifully coifed, up on top of her head, pieces of hair falling around her face and framing it, like a picture. She was gorgeous. She had a pair of long and shapely legs, tucked up underneath her. Lindsey couldn't believe his eyes. "Excuse me, Miss. Is this the People's Court?"  
  
The woman looked up at Lindsey and sighed, quietly. "No." She looked back down at the paper she was reading and then stopped to look at Lindsey again. She smiled sweetly and shook her head. "I'm so very sorry. That was extremely rude of me." The woman put her paper down and pointed at the building behind her. "This is the regular court building. The people's court is down the road on the left. You'll know it by the statue of Lady Justice. Her left arm is broken off."  
  
Lindsey laughed. "Of course, it is." Lindsey took a seat beside the woman and leaned back. "I'm Lindsey." He turned toward the lady and held out his hand.   
  
She took a hold of his hand and smiled. "Amelie. Are you a lawyer?"  
  
"Will it make you think any less of me, if I am?" Lindsey asked, while quirking a brow.  
  
Amelie shook her head and laughed. "No. My father was a lawyer, as was my mother."  
  
Lindsey cringed. "You poor thing. So what do you do?"  
  
"I'm a dancer." Amelie smiled at Lindsey, lasciviously.  
  
"Oh." Lindsey grinned. "Where do you dance? Maybe I could come see you, some time."  
  
Amelie let out a soft little sigh. "At the San Francisco Ballet."  
  
"Oh?" Lindsey laughed. "I *love* the ballet."  
  
"Really? Are you straight?" Amelie asked, with a grin.  
  
Lindsey nodded. "When it suits me and my purpose."  
  
"Oh, and what's your purpose, as of now?" Amelie asked.  
  
Lindsey shrugged. "Getting your number and making a date."  
  
Amelie nodded and tore a scrap of paper off of the page she had been reading earlier. She pulled a pen out of her pocket book, which sat next to her, and scribbled on the back of the paper. "Here you go, then." She got up from her seat on the step and stretched. "I've really got to go run some errands, right now, but I should be available between four and nine every evening." Amelie put out her palm and accepted Lindsey's handshake. "It was nice meeting you."  
  
"The pleasure was all mine." Lindsey said, with a smile. He watched Amelie walk away and he knew he hadn't been lying.  
  
The truth is, the pleasure was his, for a time. They had gotten together, not a week later and had become inseparable, after that. They were both arguers and unmovable in their beliefs, or lack thereof. They spent most of their time fighting like cats and dogs, or making up for said arguments. It was a lust/hate relationship, which took its toll on both parties. After four months of strain and a constant stream of annoyances, they both decided to go their separate ways. The peace was kept, for a while, until Amelie called Lindsey up, with an earful of news.  
  
"I'm pregnant and it's all your fault." Amelie's breath was coming in short gasps   
  
"*All* my fault? When is it that I found the time to rape you?" Lindsey was less than enthusiastic about becoming a father. The truth was, he didn't know where to begin. His own father hadn't exactly been the best example to go by. "Are you keeping it?"  
  
"I... haven't thought... I mean... I don't know." Lindsey sighed, unhappily. "Would you come over, so we can talk?"  
  
Lindsey nodded and then realized, with a laugh, that Amelie couldn't see him.  
  
"What's so funny?" Amelie asked, on a wail.   
  
"Nothing." Lindsey sighed. "I'll be there, in a moment." Lindsey headed straight over to Amelie's apartment and was welcomed, with a slap to the face.  
  
"How could you get me pregnant?"  
  
"I... don't know. Faulty condom?" Lindsey rubbed his sore cheek. "I guess all of that, 'when a man and a woman love each other crap' isn't exactly how it goes."  
  
Amelie grabbed her forehead and gave a feminine little grunt. "And I was still hoping for a stork or cabbage patch."  
  
Lindsey felt bad. He really didn't know how to sooth a pregnant woman. "How can we make it all better?"  
  
Amelie looked up at Lindsey with bright, tear filled eyes. "I can't kill it!"  
  
"No." Lindsey nodded and walked forward, taking Amelie into his arms. "Of course, not."  
  
Amelie sobbed into Lindsey's shoulder and gasped. "She won't have a daddy to warn her about boys."  
  
Lindsey nodded his agreement. "What if it's a boy?"  
  
"He won't have a daddy to warn him about boys."   
  
Lindsey pushed Amelie back a few steps and shook his head. "We have got to move out of San Francisco."  
  
"We?" Amelie asked, confusion written all over her face.  
  
Lindsey nodded. "We... I mean, I know we don't get along all of the time and we disagree about so many things, but... You won't be dancing while you're pregnant." Amelie started to protest, but Lindsey cut her off. "You can forget it. We won't have you endangering the baby and we have already established that we won't have any 'Dirty Dancing' mishaps. You are going to go full term and we are going to have a beautiful little... human." Lindsey grinned at Amelie and then pulled her into a hug. "That little human is going to have two parents who love it, so much."   
  
Yes, they loved it... him. Andy was an angel, from the very beginning. He was a bright and capable one month old, before anything of worth came up.   
  
"I'm going to start dancing, again. I've already started getting my figure back to normal and I just did some warm-ups without breaking a sweat." Amelie had made the proclamation, while Lindsey fed Andy a bottle.   
  
"Really?" Lindsey had just started at this new firm, Wolfram and Hart. Well, the firm wasn't new... It was actually ancient, but apparently they were interested in everything Lindsey had to offer. "Well, I'm going to be spending a lot of time at the office, you know."  
  
Amelie shrugged. "We'll get a babysitter."  
  
Lindsey nodded. "Sounds good, to me."   
  
It had sounded good until he met the babysitter. Hans... Who was named Hans? Really? Well, their new male babysitter was. He looked like a Hans, too. A big buff German (or was it Austrian) man, who one day decided to sleep with his wife. She had apparently agreed that that would be the right course of action and they started a long drawn out affair. Lindsey finally got tired of pretending that he didn't know what was going on and packed his bags. They were stacked at the door, one day, and Amelie failed to question it. The next thing she knew, her husband was gone.  
  
Lindsey called Amelie two days later, from his new apartment that the firm had set him up with. Apparently they had sent Hans to his house, as a test on his marriage. The marriage had lost and for some reason, maybe the new lack of a soul, he didn't seem to care. "Hello, Amelie? Just thought I should tell you that a lawyer, from my firm, will meet you soon. We're getting a divorce and you can have Andy. I can't take care of a child. I'll send you all of the financial support you will ever need, but I can't be there for every little thing." Lindsey had hung up and that had been that... for a while.  
  
Three years later, Amelie had called. "Lindsey, something happened."  
  
"What's that?" Lindsey sat in his big desk, examining his nails. They were looking kind of girly, lately. He really needed to cut them.  
  
"Andy has been bitten by a wild animal."  
  
Lindsey sat forward in his chair and cleared his throat. His heart had started beating, wildly. "Is he all right?"  
  
Amelie sighed, heavily. "He's going to be fine, except..."  
  
"Except what, Amelie?" Lindsey slammed his fist down on the table.  
  
"It was werewolf. I know that it sounds crazy, but it was. See I have this friend who has a child and they were playing together, the other night, and something happened. She said she had her dates mixed up! I've thought about suing her."  
  
Lindsey shook his head. He had clients that were werewolves. He knew the drawbacks of the disease. From all logical points of view, that's exactly what it was, a disease. "There are ways to slow down his cycle to a halting level, but we'll have to wait until he is older for those methods."  
  
"How long?"  
  
Lindsey thought for a moment. "Non-virgin age?"  
  
Amelie sighed. "This sucks, Lindsey. I'm getting back into my dancing full force and then something like this happens. Now, boarding school is completely out of the question. I can't send him overseas, while he's morphing into Andy the dog-faced boy!"  
  
Lindsey shook his head. Amelie sounded so bitter, when she spoke of their son. It was absolutely heartbreaking. "I'm going to start coming around more often."  
  
"How do you think I should explain that one? I've already told Andy that his daddy was a total bastard who left him, because he couldn't deal with being a father." Amelie was hissing over the phone.  
  
"Well, Medusa, tell him anything. Tell him I'm his uncle or something. The way we fight, we could be brother and sister." Lindsey sighed. "We still have the same last name." He reasoned.  
  
"Whatever." Amelie slammed down the phone, in Lindsey's ear.  
  
Lindsey left the phone off the hook and walked over to his closet, at the far end of his office. He slipped of his jacket and tie, and into something a little more fitting of an uncle, who was going to take his nephew to a ball game. He looked in the mirror and laughed. Khakis and a white t-shirt? He had to go shopping.  
  
So, Lindsey headed straight over to his ex-wife's apartment and met his son, for the first time since he could walk or talk. They hit off and became best buds. They went to the movies and talked about girls and the cooties their kisses carried. Lindsey made time to point out that little boys carried cooties also, so therefore they were off limits in the kissing field, as well. Andy understood. Lindsey sighed in relief. It got to the point where Lindsey wanted to spend so much time with his son that he started slacking in work. He got distracted, lost a hand, gained a soul... of sorts. Things were falling apart and rebuilding themselves so fast that Lindsey wasn't sure how to react.   
  
On top o all of this, Amelie had started taking less interest in her son and more interest in this new dancer at her studios... Missy. She was a quiet girl, from a poor background, and apparently, a abusive boyfriend, whom she had lived with since she was sixteen. Amelie took her under her wing and helped her find her own wings, although they were clipped short, periodically. Missy turned out to be good with Andy and, as far as Lindsey was concerned, that was all that mattered.   
  
After Lindsey had quit the firm, he had decided to go 'find himself'. That meant nobody that reminded him of LA and his life before and/or during Wolfram and Hart. He explained to Andy that uncle Andy was going to go on vacation, down south, and he would be back when he felt rested enough. Rest was cut short, when Lindsey realized his truck was going to junk out and all he really wanted was a 'normal' life. A wife that he loved, a little boy, who happened to be trapped in La with a bitch of a mom, and a small house in the middle of nowhere.  
  
Then, his dreams almost became an impossibility, thanks to the machinations of his evil ex-wife. His ex wife, who lay there in he bed, idly stroking the hair of her son, which she couldn't find the heart to love. Lindsey sighed and looked up at the clock. It had been twenty-five minutes. That was a definite record for him. Twenty-some-odd minutes, in the same room with Amelie and there was no bloodshed. "Andy, we need to leave."  
  
The little boy lifted his head and nodded. He stood up and walked over to his das and grabbed his hand. They made their way toward the hallway, but before they could get outside Andy turned back to his mom. "Mommy?"  
  
The woman turned her head toward her son and gave him a fake smile.  
  
Andy took a shaky breath and then shook his head. "Mommy..." He stated more firmly. "...I know you gave me to the bad man. I also know that you are going to be going away, with the police. I think that's good." Andy looked at the woman more thoughtfully. "Cause if they didn't, I think I would probably eat you."   
  
TBC  
  
-Hehe...So, I just answered a lot of questions. This was a long and difficult chapter to write and I spit it out in a day. Please, give reviews and I will give more chapter(s). (The plural thing is undecided)-  
  
--The subtitle was El Diablo (Spanish for 'the devil'), which is a song by the Brian Setzer Orchestra. It is so very, very hot. Listen to it and weep with joy.-- 


	15. Crisis What Crisis

I don't own BTVS or AtS. I've done everything, but make human sacrifices for the chance to get them and still... they aren't mine. I don't own most of the characters in this story, but the ones I do own I take care of... one way or another. *grins evilly* Oh what a twisted web we weave, when we try writing fanfiction while going to work and school... *sighs* I'm so tired. Anyway, I'm coming close to the end of the story. I can feel it. Hope the story's not going the way you thought it would and that you're glad that it's not. On another note, Joss is a genius. Need I say more? Okay... He also has good taste in actors and has pretty eyes. *clears throat* Anyway, on that note, I suppose we shall be...  
  
On with the show.  
  
::Carpe Diem- Crisis, What Crisis?::  
  
"Right on, little man." Spike put his palm out for Andy to slap. The little boy brought his palm down as hard as he could and Spike pulled back his hand, in feigned pain. "Wow, you're a strong one."  
  
Lindsey grinned over at the two and sighed. "You shouldn't encourage him. He jabbered about how it felt good to talk back to mama, all the way home." Lindsey rubbed his thumb and forefinger, over his eyelids, and shook his head. "I can only imagine what it will be like when he's a teenager. I think Katie and I will have our hands full."  
  
Spike leaned in and whispered something to Andy, which made the little boy laugh and nod his head. Andy ran over and jumped in Lindsey's lap, gripping him around the stomach. "I love you, Lindsey."  
  
Lindsey looked down at the boy, in surprise, and hugged him back. "Did Spike tell you to say that?"  
  
Andy shook his head and laughed. He pulled back and looked up at his father. "What should I call you?"  
  
Lindsey shrugged. "Whatever you feel comfortable with."  
  
"Uncle Daddy." Spike coughed.  
  
Lindsey shot Spike a look and sighed. "If that's what he wants to call me then... okay." Lindsey covered up his son's ears and whispered, harshly. "But I will hold you totally responsible."  
  
Spike grinned. "As long as you have a dedication for me in your life story, I don't care what you do."  
  
Lindsey let go of his son's head and chuckled. "I could write a very interesting book."  
  
"About a Snake?" Andy jumped up and down on Lindsey's lap, making the older man groan in discomfort.   
  
"Well, I could have a snake in there." He grunted. "We'll name her Amy." Lindsey muttered, thoughtfully, while ruffling his son's hair.   
  
Andy quirked a little brow, as he pulled back from his dad, and cocked his head to the side. "Amy, the snake?" Andy looked very perturbed with that idea. He shook his head, adamantly. "Leroy."  
  
"Leroy, the snake?" Lindsey asked. He looked past his son's head, at Spike, and sighed. "Why is it that the snakes in stories are always male?"  
  
Spike shrugged. "They're evil." He stated, matter-of-factly.  
  
"Oh." Lindsey nodded and looked back at his son. "Leroy it is, then."  
  
Connor walked into the room and looked in between Lindsey and Andy and then at Spike. "Have you guys seen Skittles?"  
  
"I like Skittles." Andy told his daddy, who was ignoring him, at the moment.   
  
Lindsey nodded his head, mindlessly, and watched the young man search around the room. He was looking under the bureau and the bed. He crawled all the way over to the closet and opened the door. A little black and white fur ball skittered across the floor and, before Lindsey could grab him, darted off of his lap and after the kitten. "Andy!"  
  
Andy had shot out the door and down the hall, after the kitty, with Conner on his heels. Connor was running as fast as his feet could carry him, but the little boy was unnaturally fast, even for a six-year-old. "Hey, kid! If you hurt my cat, you're dad will be scraping you off the wall!"  
  
Lindsey was trying to keep up with the boys, but it was no use. The hotel was a labyrinth of halls and the boys were super-humanly fast. Lindsey was merely humanly fast. He stopped to catch his breath and Spike sauntered up to his side. He took a deep breath and let it out in a sigh. "You don't think he will really hurt Andy, do you?"  
  
Spike chewed on his bottom lip and shrugged. "Not if the kiddy keeps his hands and teeth off of the kitty. You don't think Andy will try and eat Skittles, do you?"   
  
Lindsey shook his head. "Of course, not." Lindsey thought about it a moment. "I hope not."   
  
"HA-OW!" The screech came from downstairs. It didn't exactly sound human. "ACHK!"  
  
Lindsey and Spike jogged over to the stairs and hurried down to the bottom floor. What they saw when they got there almost made them fall down in laughter. Skittles was on top of a bookshelf, his claws digging into the wood and his back arched. Every hair on his little spine stood on end and his tail was puffed out like a duster. Connor stood under the cat, holding Andy's legs, in a vice like grip. Andy was gripping onto the bookshelf, for dear life. Three young males, each with a different agenda, and in the end, only one could win.   
  
Connor pulled Andy enough to move the bookshelf and make the cat hiss at the both of them. "Let go!"  
  
"You first!" Andy screamed at his attacker.  
  
"You wish!" The teenager shrieked.  
  
"What is going on here?" Angel walked out of the office and looked around the room, for the source of the commotion. "Connor, what are you doing? Let go of Andy."  
  
Connor grunted and pulled the boy, again. "No!"  
  
"No?" Angel asked, in wonder. Connor hadn't been much for talking back to him, as of late.  
  
"Angel, do something." Lindsey pleaded with the vampire.  
  
Angel looked at the man and scoffed. "Why should I be the one to do something? Your son is being a jerk, too."  
  
"Well, your son is older and should know better!" Lindsey walked over to Angel and bucked up to him.  
  
"My son was raised in hell, by an obsessive murderer. I think he's doing quite well!"  
  
"And being raised in LA by you, would make a difference, how?"  
  
Spike was watching both groups of males go at it and he wondered how he had gotten here. "Guys?" Spike took a deep breath and sighed. He walked over to the younger group of men and tapped Conner on the shoulder. The teenager let his hold loosen and looked at his 'brother'. Spike pointed at the father figures, behind him, and Conner shook his head, in frustration. "Andy, let go of the shelf." Spike admonished. The boy tightened his grip. "Come on, Andy. Let go and watch your daddy get his ass whooped."  
  
Andy looked around at Spike, eyes wide. He looked past the bleached blonde man and gasped. "Daddy, don't fight! He squealed, in terror. Connor let go of the boy's legs, right before he let go of the shelf and tumbled to the ground. Andy jumped up off the floor and ran in front of Lindsey. He squeezed in between the two men and pushed his dad back a few feet. "Don't fight!" Andy yelled up at his dad and then started to cry.  
  
Lindsey knelt down and pulled Andy into his arms. "It's okay, Andy. Angel and I will stop fighting."  
  
"I'm sorry... I'm sorry... I'm sorry... I'm sorry..."   
  
Andy was repeating the little mantra, while Lindsey rubbed his back, soothingly. He looked up at Angel, who looked as uncomfortable as he felt. "It's okay, buddy."  
  
"It was so fast and furry. I wanted to catch it. I wasn't gonna' eat it. I promise." Andy leaned back and crossed his heart, with his forefinger.  
  
"I believe you." Lindsey smiled at the boy, who was rubbing the tears out of his eyes.  
  
"I don't." Muttered Connor. He was still trying to get his kitten off of the shelf. He dragged a chair over to the bookshelf and got up on top of it, reaching as far as he could. The kitten ran to the other side and jumped off, onto the floor. It landed on its feet and then plopped down on its butt, stretching its back leg out as far as it could stretch and licking the underside. Connor leapt off of the chair and pounced on top of the kitty, pinning it to the ground. It howled and meowed, smacking Connor with his front paw.  
  
Andy giggled, as he watched the kitten smack Connor in the face. He stopped laughing, after a moment, and then sighed. "I'm sorry for scaring you and your kitty, Connor."  
  
Connor held the cat away from his face, so he wouldn't receive any major damage, and nodded. "Sure, kid. You know I wouldn't have really hurt you, right?"  
  
"Yeah... I guess." Andy looked at his Daddy and nodded, conspiratorially.   
  
Lindsey just smiled back and shook his head.  
  
Angel scratched the back of his head, in confusion, and looked between his son and Lindsey's.  
  
Spike watched his sire and chuckled, under his breath. "I'll tell you all about it, later."  
  
Angel looked over at Spike and shook his head. "I don't want to know." Angel turned on his heel and headed back into the office, slamming the door behind him.  
  
"What's the matter with him, Daddy Lindsey?" Andy asked, while burrowing his head into Lindsey's chest.  
  
Lindsey looked up at Spike and they exchanged glances. "He's an ass." They both informed the boy.  
  
~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~* ~ * ~ * ~ * ~* ~ * ~ * ~ *~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~  
  
  
  
The shower had stopped ten minutes before. Katie leaned against her fluffy pillows and waited for Lindsey to step out of the, steam filled, bathroom. He was so predictable. Go in the bathroom, for a shower, jump in, and come out the door twenty minutes later. He would be clean, dry, clean-shaven, and, at least, half way dressed. Katie always loved that part. Lindsey looked good in whatever he wore. He looked sexy in suits and ties or sweatpants and t-shirts.   
  
The door opened and Lindsey stepped out, steam billowing around him. "I feel so much better."  
  
"You smell so much better, too." Katie smiled, pleasantly, and patted the bed next to her.  
  
Lindsey padded over to the bed and jumped on it, landing on his side. He looked Katie over and smiled. "I like your dress." He said appreciatively.   
  
"Damn it." Katie smacked her head against he pillow and groaned. "Cordelia was right." She glanced back at Lindsey and shook her head. "I tried telling her that I don't wear sundresses, but she insisted that I was built for them."  
  
Lindsey nodded and rubbed the material between his thumb and forefinger. "She was right."   
  
Katie sighed and her grin widened. "It's been so long since we have just sat down and talked. I missed it." Katie stopped to rub a hand down Lindsey' arm. "I missed you."  
  
Lindsey sighed, as he scooted closer to Katie and buried his face into her side. "Andy's asleep and nobody is around." He muttered while smiling into Katie's ribs.   
  
Katie chuckled and sighed. "You can't possibly want it, right now."  
  
"I always want it." Lindsey informed his fiancé. He pet her hip, casually, and waited for her to give her okay.  
  
Katie lay starring at the ceiling and then nodded. "All right." She sat up and pushed Lindsey away. "Flip over."  
  
Lindsey grinned and turned over, onto his belly. He crossed his arms under his head and turned his neck to the side. "I love you."  
  
Katie pulled her skirt up her thighs and straddled Lindsey's back. "You only think you love me, because you like my massages, so much." Katie reached down and kneaded Lindsey's shoulders.  
  
Lindsey sighed, happily, and shook his head. "No, I love you. Even if you stopped giving me massages, I would still love you." Lindsey paused. "Not as much, of course."  
  
Katie yanked a lock of Lindsey's hair, which made the man yelp. "Jerk."  
  
"Yes, I am." Lindsey agreed. "You still love me, though."   
  
"Always and forever." Katie agreed. "What was that commotion downstairs, earlier?" Katie asked, while pressing her elbow in between Lindsey's spin and shoulder blade. "I was soaking in the tub, when I heard this strange screeching sound."  
  
"That was the kitty. Andy was trying to teethe on its tail." Lindsey groaned, in pleasure. "I'm rethinking the whole buying a massage chair, thing. If I get one, you may stop giving me massages."  
  
"You buy one of those expensive massage chairs and I may stop giving you a lot of things." Katie rubbed harder on a knot she felt, under Lindsey's skin.   
  
Lindsey hissed. "Point taken, darling. Now, quit attacking my spine."  
  
Katie stopped rubbing Lindsey's back and collapsed forward, which only ended up knocking the air out of his lungs. She turned her face toward Lindsey's and smiled, sweetly. "My turn."  
  
Lindsey smiled, slyly. "Can't we jus..."  
  
The phone rang, cutting off Lindsey's train of thought. He sat up, which knocked Katie over to the side, where she fell backward and started to pout.  
  
Lindsey gave Katie an apologetic look and picked up the phone. "Hello? Yes. Is she? She said what? No. Of course, not. All right. I'll come in, as soon as possible." Lindsey put the phone back on its cradle and lay back against the headboard, of the bed.   
  
Katie knew something was wrong. Lindsey's face had turned pale and his eyes had become, unusually bright. "Lindsey, baby, what's wrong?"  
  
"Missy is waking up. She wants to talk to me about something important." Lindsey stared down at his nails and sighed. They were short-- almost bitten to the quick.   
  
"Lindsey?" Katie edged toward him and tried to touch his shoulder. He pulled away and stood up, walking around the bed and toward the door. "What does she want to talk about?"  
  
Lindsey shrugged and looked Katie in the eyes. "I don't know, but she made it sound urgent." He turned away from her and headed out into the hall.  
  
Katie shrunk back into the bed and shook her head. Lindsey was lying. She knew that much. Of all the things Lindsey could do, lie was not one of them. Well, at least, to her. Lying came second nature to Lindsey, but Katie knew him inside and out. There was nothing he could get past her... for long.  
  
-Hehe... What would Missy have to say that would be so important? Hmm... review and I'll try to get it out quicker. Yes that is extortion, in the best sense. *holds out ruler* Don't make me use this!-  
  
--The subtitle was Crisis What Crisis, which is a song by Super Tramp... Chelsea, you comment on my choices of music and I'll kill Vampire Kitty. I mean it. *holds out ruler, again*-- 


	16. Dancing With Myself

I don't own Buffy the Vampire Slayer or Angel the Series, but one consolation is that I can spell them correctly. Yay me! I don't own most of the characters in this story, but one consolation is that I have *reaches toward the sky, which darkens except for the lightening flashes* absolute power, over them! *looks around and clears throat* Anyway, Joss is the owner of any and all things that I do not claim. I am the owner of everything that he wouldn't touch with a twelve-foot pole. Kay? By the by, I really love writing this story and I will hate it when it ends. *sigh* Oh well, as is traditional, we should be...  
  
On with the show.  
  
::Carpe Diem- Dancing With Myself::  
  
Lindsey walked into the room and looked around. It was dark and there were various beeps, coming from the machines, next to Missy's bed. Lindsey hated hospitals. He hated doctors, nurses, medicine, injections, pills, sick people... They all were sources of annoyance for him. It amazed him that he hadn't been forced into coming by a promise or person, but he came under his own power. He looked at the bed and winced. Missy was thinner and paler than he had ever seen her. Her dancer's body was turning into a mere skeleton. The muscles were fading and the bones jutting in strange angles. All that he could think was that she must not have been eating properly, for a while, to turn out like that. Lindsey walked over to the bed and leaned toward the lamp, on the bedside table, and turned it on. "Missy?"  
  
Missy's eyes fluttered open and the woman glanced around the room. The confusion in her gaze was obvious. She had no idea where she was. "Who?"  
  
"It's me..." Lindsey pushed the woman's bangs out of her face and sighed. "...Lindsey."  
  
Missy looked up at Lindsey, her pupils dilating, in recognition. "Please don't hurt me. Amelie told me that you hurt people, when you are angry. I didn't want to make you angry. Honest, I didn't."  
  
Lindsey nodded and took a step backward. "I promise that I will not hurt you." While you're helpless, he added, silently. Lindsey took a deep breath and let it out in a sigh. "So, what did you want to tell me?" Lindsey had basic idea of what Missy wanted to tell him. She wanted to tell him about how guilty she felt over Andy and everything else. She was looking for absolution. He just wanted the chance to deny her the forgiveness she was looking for.  
  
Missy shook her head, slowly. "A story. You won't like it." Missy lifted a weak arm and pointed at the chair next to her bed. "You may want to sit down, also."  
  
Lindsey looked back at the chair and shook his head. "I'll stand, thank you." He looked back at Missy, who had draped her arm across her eyes and started shaking. Lindsey frowned. He hated to see women cry, especially 'bad' women. He had never seen Lilah cry and if he had he would probably have quit his job, at that exact moment. If Lilah had only know that it was that easy to get rid of him, she would have probably been weeping at every turn.  
  
Missy sighed and swiped her eyes, with the back of her wrist. "All right. I don't know where to start."  
  
"The beginning seems a pretty good place to start." Lindsey muttered.  
  
Missy shook her head. "If you are planning to stay overnight, it may be a good place to start. You may want to get home before then, though. Are you sure you don't want to sit down?"   
  
Lindsey shook his head and grunted. "Tell your story."  
  
Missy nodded. "All right. We are going to start almost seven years ago and I'll try to skip ahead as fast as possible. Is that okay?"  
  
Lindsey shrugged. "Do what you have to do."  
  
Missy smiled, sadly. "All guys sound the same, when they say certain things. Did you know that?" Missy stared up at the ceiling and took a deep breath. "You don't care, I'm sure, but things like that matter... to women, at least. Especially women like me." Missy shook her head. "I'm skipping ahead." She turned her head toward the window and sighed, quietly. "I met Amelie in a class she was helping teach. She came over and helped me stretch..."  
  
~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~   
  
Missy had her ankle up on the bar and was stretching toward her pointed toes. She winced with every movement. She felt like a vice had been constricting her ribcage. She was bandaged up, because of the bruised ribs and the cracked sternum she had received three days before. She had missed class for two days and there was a new teacher's assistant up front showing the proper form to the younger, less experienced, students. So it surprised her when she felt a hand touch her shoulder.  
  
"Excuse me, but you aren't doing the full extension."  
  
Missy looked over her shoulder and met eyes with the new teacher's assistant. She stood up and pulled her leg off of the bar. "You see... I would do that, except it kind of... hurts, right now."  
  
"I'm sorry." The woman's eyebrows scrunched, in concern. "Are you cramping or having muscle spasms?"  
  
Missy looked at the hardwood flooring, while she chewed on her bottom lip and shook her head. "I had an accident three days ago. I fell down a flight of stairs and it cracked by sternum and bruised my ribs. They're bound up, pretty well. It just hurts to... move." Missy looked up and caught the way the lady's eyes had widened.  
  
"Why are you even here?" The woman asked.  
  
Missy gave a little shrug. "It's better than being at home?"  
  
"Why is that?" The woman narrowed her eyes at Missy.  
  
Missy sighed. "That's where the stairs are?"  
  
The woman nodded and turned toward the teacher, mouthing something to her. The older lady nodded and waved her away. The woman turned toward Missy and smiled. "Why don't we get out of here and go have some coffee?"  
  
Missy shook her head. "I'm not al... very good with coffee." Missy glanced up at the clock on the wall and sighed. There was forty minutes left of class time.  
  
"How about ice cream? You're allowed to eat that aren't you?" The woman watched the expression on Missy's face tumble and fall, and then nodded. "Let's just go for a walk. Is that okay?"  
  
Missy nodded and followed the teacher's helper to the dressing rooms. They slipped on their sweats and grabbed their duffels, before heading out the door and toward the park. They talked about mindless subjects: music, movies, television actors and their skanky, wanna-be-swanky, playboy wives. They talked about politics and their lack of interest in the subject. They talked about their lives...   
  
The assistants name was Amelie. She was not so much happily, as she was comfortably married. Her husband was a well-to-do lawyer and she had a beautiful little boy. The problem was, if a person didn't wear ballet slippers she didn't know how to talk to them. She knew dance, talked dance, lived dance, and, when she was sleeping, she dreamed dance. She was accustomed to lawyers, but she hated the business. Lawyers, as a whole, were always looking for an argument and she had a terrible temper and an ego to match. She was always right and she made sure others knew about it.   
  
Missy decided that she like Amelie, from the beginning. She was a strong woman, who spoke her mind. Missy had always wanted to be one of those people who knew what they wanted and went for it, with all of their being.  
  
Missy sighed before telling Amelie about her family. Around the age of three, Missy had decided that all she ever wanted to do was dance. Her parents had a jewelry business, somewhere in the middle of Utah and they really couldn't afford all of the classes and outfits that it took to be a dancer. Her parents worked night and day to make and sell jewelry so that she could stay in her ballet classes and make all of the payments, on time. After many years, everything seemed to be working according to plan. They were living off of the strictest budget, but it was worth it to see Missy blossom and grow in her skill.   
  
Missy had just turned fifteen, when she met Billy. He was eighteen-years-old and a ballet student in Madame Dupree's School of the Performing Arts. His dad was a judge and his mother was Madame Dupree. He was the most sought after young man in the tri-county area. He was handsome, talented, intelligent, and he had his eye on Missy. Missy almost toppled out of her pirouette, when he leaned over and asked he to go to the movies with him. Of course, she had said yes. Her parents were weary of the man, but they said very few things to discourage the relationship. He treated her right and that was all that really mattered... even if his parents were the biggest pair of yuppie assholes they had ever come in contact with. Missy dated Billy for three years, until he decided to move, when a production company in LA recruited him. To Missy's surprise, Billy invited her to come and live with him. To her parent's surprise, she said yes.  
  
Missy ended up leaving, with Billy, on the ten o'clock plane, two days later. They moved into a small apartment and Missy played housewife, until she could find a good ballet school to enroll in. Her parents had decided to send her the cash she needed, for classes, but there was a problem. LA ballet classes cost more than Utah ballet classes. Missy found a job delivering flowers to nursing homes and hospitals. She also maintained the apartment, while taking classes and she always made sure she was home in time to fix Billy a good meal. One day Missy just had too much on her plate. Between running errands, going to class, and working, she had no time to stop and make a sandwich for herself, let alone make a meal for Billy. Instead, she ordered take-out, left it on the table, and went straight to bed, so that she could pass out, comfortably. That was the first time Billy beat her.  
  
She hadn't seen it coming. It was a fist out of the darkness that resulted in a swollen black eye, a bloody nose, and a sprained elbow and wrist. Billy begged her forgiveness and promised that it would never happen again. He didn't show signs of violence from then on, until he started drinking. He lost his job. The company fired him, because they found somebody better. It was their prerogative. Billy hadn't read the contract, he had signed when joining them. He also hadn't realized that if something sounds too good to be true, it most likely is.  
  
Missy hadn't realized that either. Billy had been the perfect guy. He just had a couple of bad vices he couldn't shake. Drinking became a vice that harmed him and Missy. Apparently, Billy's father had been an alcoholic, when he wasn't in his judge's robe. The bug had infected Billy, the moment he decided to drown his problems in a Heineken. One beer, which led to another... and then another... and yet another. Missy had a period of five months, where all she was doing was running out to buy more bandages and salves. Finally, Billy had snapped. He had found an 'incriminating' picture of Missy receiving a hug from one of the men in her dance class. Missy and the young man happened to be standing, right next to the man's boyfriend, but Billy didn't want to hear that part of the story. He was drunk and he was only hearing what he wanted to hear. Enough was enough, he had said, right before pushing Missy down the flight of stairs.  
  
Missy had woken up, in a hospital bed, her head kept still be a strangely shaped pillow. Her chest felt like it was weighted down with a barbell, but then Missy looked down and saw the cause of that certain feeling. Billy was leaning on her crying to whatever spirits that would take ear to his pleas. Missy had just petted his head soothingly and bit out the phrase, I'm leaving you. Billy had looked up at her with his liquid blue eyes and nodded. I deserve that, he had muttered. Do what you have to do, he added, before burying his face into her stomach and sobbing. Obviously he was sober, once more. Missy decided to stick around the house for a while, just in case things got better. If they didn't, she would leave.  
  
Amelie had stopped that, then and there. "It won't get better!" She had raged. "He's a horrible, abusive man and he is going to kill you, if you do not leave him." She had stated.  
  
Missy watched the woman, in awe. "He would never..."  
  
"Not if he was sober, maybe." Amelie murmured. "But you said it, yourself. He is under the influence of alcohol and he will not stop." Amelie took a breath. "If he gets help, that is fine and dandy, but you are not going back home to him. Not now... not ever, if I have any say, in it."  
  
Missy nodded. She wasn't enough of her own person to just come out and tell Amelie that she really didn't have any say in it and that she should just back off and mind her own business. The truth was, she knew Amelie was right. She was being treated horribly. She was being abused. She had never seen her father treat her mother this way and with good reason. Her father was a good and decent man. Plus, her mother would have never stood for it. That was it. Amelie was, as of that moment, that certain piece of straw that was always blamed for breaking the back of that poor camel. She was the straw that was last. She was a whole bunch of other clichés that were swimming around in Missy's head, which she just couldn't identify. After talking with Amelie, Missy decided that she was going to make good on her promise to Billy. She was going to leave him.  
  
Missy and Amelie became confidantes in each other. They told one another their deepest secrets. Missy told Amelie about how she had accidentally washed all of Billy's underwear, with a red sock, and turned them all pink. She had ran out to Wal-Mart and bought him all new boxers and undershirts. His old ones, she wore to sleep in. He had asked her where she had gotten them all and she had made up some fake sale on women's sleepwear, at some girly store he wouldn't ever go by.  
  
Amelie told Missy of the times she had cheated on her husband, with various dancers she had met, here and there. There were quite a few times that she had told Lindsey she was going over to Missy's and she just went out on the town and stayed out all night. Amelie also confided that there was almost no way Andy was Lindsey's. "The eyes are wrong. The hair color and texture are wrong. He was around the right time, but I was seriously dating three other guys then, also." Amelie had shrugged it off, while Missy stood gaping. "Don't be such a prude, Miss." Amelie had laughed.  
  
It wasn't about being a prude, Missy decided. It was about lying to the man that you pledged to honor and love, for the rest of your life. It was about lying, in relation to the son that was supposed to belong to him. Missy had been surprised by the callousness of Amelie, many a time. She wrote it off on not being showed enough love as a child. She mentioned it one time, while they chatted.  
  
Amelie shook her head. "I wasn't loved enough and you were over-loved." Amelie shrugged, nonchalantly. "I'm callous and you are naïve. It happens."  
  
Missy decided that Amelie was most likely right and she dropped the subject. Only a few months later, a tragedy came up. Lindsey had decided to divorce Amelie, when he found out she was cheating on him, with the new Austrian babysitter, Hans. Missy still laughed about him. He was a very buff, funny man, with a deep accent that tickled her from her nose to the soles of her feet. He was a nice guy, but for some reason she couldn't imagine 'being' with him. Amelie couldn't imagine not being with him, apparently. So, Lindsey had had enough. He packed up his bags one day, taking only enough stuff to go on a weekend business trip and left. He was going to send child support and nothing else.  
  
After Lindsey moved out of the family, Missy moved in. She didn't physically move into the house, for a while, but she was almost close enough to be an Aunt to Andy. She took Andy out for ice cream and babysat him, when Amelie was out. One day she had taken him over to a friend's house and a horrible thing happen. Andy and her friend's little boy got into a fight and Andy had a chunk bitten out of his arm. The friend apologized over and over, as they wrapped up the little boy's forearm. Andy just stared down at the bandages that were seeping with blood. The woman picked that time to inform Missy that her son was a werewolf and now Andy was 'infected'. Missy was very afraid to tell Amelie about the mishap, but there was really no way to hide it. In less than a week, her son was going to sprout hair and run around the house killing furniture. The least she could do was prepare Amelie for the worse, she decided.  
  
Missy told Amelie of the bite and what it meant. Amelie had looked at Missy, disbelievingly, and sighed. "Now, we'll have to call Lindsey, I suppose." She muttered, as she swiped her hand over her face. So, Amelie had called up her ex-husband, who, surprisingly, showed quite a bit of interest in his son, after that. Lindsey came over, at least, twice a week to see his son. He always went under the alias of Uncle Lindsey, though. Everyone felt it was best to leave Andy in the dark about this certain piece of information.   
  
After a few years, Lindsey started losing interest in his job and what his work place stood for. He started slacking off and, to the horror of everybody, he lost a limb... then he gained it back. Lindsey didn't explain how it was possible and nobody else the need to ask about it. A few months after that, Lindsey decided to go on a cross-country search for himself. He was going to go Southeast of the Mississippi. A phone call from Amelie, confirmed that he was in Louisiana... with a woman. He was across the country sowing wild oats, while Amelie stayed at home with a dog for a son and played mom!   
  
At that moment, she decided there was only one thing to do, to make her life right again, and that was to get rid of Andy. He was hindering her as a person and a dancer. Personally, she couldn't kill him and she knew that nobody, in their right mind, would adopt a werewolf, as a son. This caused problems, until she heard of this man who collected and sold werewolves to the highest bidders. Usually the werewolves were kept as servants and 'pets'. Unusually, they were turned into coats. Amelie figured what she didn't know wouldn't hurt her and she made a deal to split the money sixty/forty with the man.   
  
After that... everything went to hell. Amelie heard that Lindsey was back in town, so she decided to run by the nearest detective office that wouldn't freak over a werewolf and pretend she was trying to find her son. That way Lindsey would be thrown off the track. Then, Missy had been caught at the 'scene of the crime'. Angel Investigations wasn't supposed to be so thorough or talented. Lindsey had called them goofs, for as long as she could remember them being open. Goofs- they were not, though. Amelie almost threw in the towel, when she heard that Lindsey was trying to buy Andy. The description Mal gave her was perfect. The smooth voice, his name being Lindsey McDonald... it all pointed to the fact that Lindsey was too close. So, she had to put Angel on Lindsey's tail. She switched it around again, but to no avail. Andy was back with his father and Amelie had shot her closest friend, just so she wouldn't have a verbal confession against her.  
  
"So, from the beginning to end..." Missy sighed. "... that is the story I needed to tell you." Missy turned her head toward Lindsey, who was sitting low in the chair, next to her bed. He didn't blink, sigh, or say a word. He just stood up, turned toward the door, and walked out into the sterile hallways of the hospital.   
  
TBC  
  
-That was the hardest chapter to write! *wipes sweat from forehead* There was no humor and it was killing me, but I felt the need to express the seriousness of the situation, through the way I told Missy's story. Ahem... Anyway, please review and tell me what you think of this chapter. (The only chapter that has forced me to tears... twice.)-  
  
--The subtitle was Dancing With Myself, which is a song by Billy Idol. How's that for a title, Chelsea, dear?-- 


	17. So Happy Together

I don't own BTVS or AtS, but I would scalp my cat if I thought it would make a difference. *looks over at cat and notices evil glare* I retract that last statement, on the grounds that my kitty may kill me because of it. *clears throat* I don't own most of the characters in this story, but the ones that I do own, I've decided to give up for adoption. Hey, it's better than selling then to evil, merciless men. Anyway, Joss is a genius and if he doesn't start AtS soon, I'm gonna start a riot, at the neighborhood pet store. The hamsters will be at my mercy! Ahem... Anyway, I suppose I should get...  
  
On with the show.  
  
::Carpe Diem- So Happy Together::  
  
Lindsey ran every light, on the way home. He tried to make sure there were no pedestrians walking into his path, but other than that, you could say he was being pretty reckless. When he pulled up in front of the Hyperion, he slammed his head against the steering wheel, which yelped out a startled beep. Lindsey swore and swung open his door, before stepping out into the street and slamming it shut behind him. He took a deep breath and tried to think of something he could say, when Katie asked him what Missy wanted to talk about. He wasn't sure whether to tell her the truth, or if he should accept the truth, himself. Andy probably wasn't his? He shook his head and huffed, as he headed to the door of the hotel. He slammed the door open and it hit the wall, with a bang.  
  
Katie and Cordelia had been chatting at the desk and painting their nails, when Lindsey stormed in. Katie smiled, sweetly, at Cordelia and confided. "That's Lindsey-speak for, 'Honey, I'm home'." Katie shook her head, in mock sadness. "He hasn't gotten it perfected, as of yet."  
  
Cordelia sighed, gustily. "I don't know how to tell you this, but if you don't have him well trained by now, then there is no hope for you." Cordelia patted Katie's hair, with an unpainted hand, and glanced at Lindsey. "If you let it happen, those men will grow a mind of their own and after that, they'll get a backbone. Then, they are lost to you."  
  
Lindsey stomped in through the lobby and frowned at his fiancé. She seemed too at ease with the world. She was magical. Couldn't she feel how upset he was?  
  
"Dear, God, darling. Turn the remorse down a notch."  
  
Lindsey looked up at the stairs, towards the source of his mental interruption. "Lorne." Lindsey gave the green demon a look that resembles a genuine smile and nodded hello.  
  
"So, I hear you are a daddy." Lorne made his way down the stairs and gave Lindsey a toothy grin. "Congratulations." He put out his hand and Lindsey took it. Lorne grunted, in speculation. "Care to hum a bar for me, sugar?"  
  
"Not in particular."   
  
Lindsey's eyes looked dead. Lorne hated to see that look, but worst of all, he hated feeling the emotion that accompanied that look. "I understand." Lorne pulled his hand back and stepped away from the man. Next thing he knew, he was being pushed back toward Lindsey, by a force that was not noticed before.  
  
"Hell no, Angelus! It is my picture and you aren't gonna' get it." Spike was running through the Hyperion lobby, like a cat with his tail on fire. To everybody's surprise, the cause happened to be Angel, who seemed to be the fire.  
  
"It is not your picture, Spike!" Angel chased Spike, until they came at a 'Mexican standoff'. One man was on one side of the desk and the other man on the opposing side. Spike was giving Angel a wry grin and the older vampire sighed. "Okay, it is your picture, but it doesn't belong to you." Spike grinned cheekily and nodded. "Bloody damn, Will, give it back!"  
  
"Will?" Katie threw a glance up at the blonde vampire, who was clutching the back of her swivel chair and stepping side to side. She nodded, acceptingly, when he grinned at Angel and, suddenly, looked like the devil. "You look like a Will."  
  
"Do I?" Spike asked as he used Katie and her chair as a shield. Angel was prowling around the desk, toward his wayward childe. "I always thought I looked more like a... shit!" Angel jumped the desk and lunged at Spike, who shoved Katie in the line of fire and ran toward the other end of the room.  
  
Angel growled and jumped up off the fallen woman and the broken chair. "You are paying for that, you little shit!" Angel stalked toward Spike and growled, softly.   
  
Lindsey walked over and helped Katie up off the ground, still entranced by the sight of Angel and Spike chasing each other around the room. He looked over at Cordelia, as Katie snuggled into his side and he hugged her. "Do they do that often?"  
  
Cordelia shrugged. "Only if they are overcome by boredom."  
  
If Angel hadn't been smiling, Spike would have truly been... intimidated. Yes, he would admit that intimidated is something he could feel, over his sire. When Spike took time to think about it, he would have probably realized that the smile Angel was wearing, was *more* of a reason to feel intimidated than anything. Now, was not a time to think about it, though. "Angel, don't come any closer." Spike looked around the room, as he backed himself into a corner. "There are witnesses. Do you want them to see me kick your big Irish tail, all the way back to your motherland? I mean... really?" Spike felt the wall press into his back and grunted. Angel was still making his way toward him, with all intentions of stealing the picture out of his pock... Spike grinned and reached in his back pocket, pulling out a piece of paper. "Want this?" Spike made a big show off placing it in his back pocket, so the others could see. He leaned against the wall, confidently. "Then, come and get it, big boy. The others can witness you molest me, instead."  
  
Angel took another step forward. "It's not molestation, if you ask for it." Angel growled.  
  
Cordelia muttered, from the back of the room. "No, but it's still pretty gay."  
  
Spike's eyes grew wide. Angel wouldn't. Angelus probably would, he thought wryly and then shivered. Spike did the only thing he could think to do. He plowed into Angel's midsection, knocking the vampire off-balance, and shot toward the office.  
  
Angel rolled backward and landed in a crouch. He turned toward his childe and ran after him. He tackled Spike, just as they got inside the office. Angel tried to hold Spike still, but the younger vampire was writhing and cussing up a storm. Spike kicked out, aiming at nothing in particular, and ended up kicking the door closed.   
  
Everyone in the lobby heard a loud crash and passed looks around.  
  
Katie looked up at Lindsey, fear in her eyes. "You and Andy won't fight like that, will you?"  
  
Lindsey looked thoughtful. "I don't plan on it. At least, while you're around the house." Lindsey mussed Katie's hair and looked over at Lorne. "When did you get back?"  
  
Lorne shrugged and put his hands on his hips. "A couple of hours ago, I suppose. I'm very jet lagged, but it seems someone has turned my room into the new kitten play-room." Lorne stuck his hand out, in front of him, and looked at his nails. "Can't even begin to imagine who would do such a thing." He chuckled.  
  
"Nobody I know." Connor hummed, as he walked down the stairs and buried his face into the side of his kitten, blowing softly. The kitten purred and swung its head back to nuzzle his master's face.  
  
Lorne sighed. "If you two weren't so cute, I'd probably pitch a fit over the whole being homeless thing."  
  
Lindsey squeezed Katie, tighter. "You can have our room, as soon as we get the few things we have in there. We have to get Andy and go by our hotel room, at the plaza. After that, we are going home."  
  
"Home?" Katie asked, suspiciously.  
  
Lindsey smiled down at his fiancé and put on a Southern drawl. "Doncha' wanna' go home Miss Katie? I thought 'Loosiana' was the place your heart yearned for. I know Big Momma would love to have you back. The garden probably misses you, as do the chillun'. Also, Momma Ruth would be elated to find out she'd be feeding two extra mouths."   
  
Katie hugged Lindsey, until the breath had been squeezed out of his lungs. "I love you..." She whispered, hoarsely. She looked up at him and pulled back, wiping the tears out of her eyes. "...but damn it, Lindsey, if you don't stop trying to sound Southern, I'll rip you a new one. Got it?"  
  
Lindsey nodded, acceptingly. "Got it."  
  
There was a loud thump and then a crash that came from the office.   
  
Cordelia jumped and swore. She had accidentally painted half of her pinky fuchsia. "Would you guys keep it down?" It was more of a command, than a request.  
  
There was another crashing sound and then a thump against the door.   
  
Connor watched the office door, intently, and finally asked. "What's going on?"  
  
Cordelia shook her head and rubbed the side of her finger with a soaked cotton ball. "Your dad and Spike are fighting over some picture. I think it may have been one of Angel's drawings, but of course I've never seen it, so I don't know for sure." Cordelia held her hand out in front of her and examined the damage. "I think it's a picture of Spike, though. He seems pretty set on keeping it."  
  
  
  
Lorne grinned, as he took a seat on the couch. "It sounds like they both have every intention of owning the prize. I would be willing to wager twenty dollars on Spike, myself."  
  
Cordelia shook her head, as she repainted her pinky nail. "I'm not gambling with an empath."  
  
Connor smiled. "Angel will win. He's older and stronger."   
  
Lindsey watched the two 'men' and decided that he liked the odds, in this bet. "I'll take the bet, also, but I'm going for Spike. He's crafty and stubborn."  
  
Katie hit Lindsey in the shoulder and laughed. "Your stupid, you know that? Angel's gonna' win."  
  
Lindsey threw Katie a mischievous grin. "You willing to bet on it?"  
  
Katie shook her head. "As many vices that I do have, gambling is not one of them. You can play, baby, but remember who my vote was for." Lindsey saluted Katie and she stuck her tongue out at him, in response. "Have fun." She said, as she headed up the stairs and toward her room.   
  
Lindsey watched Katie walk up the stairs and smiled. As quick as he was to smile, a thought came to him, which made him frown. "Where's Andy?"  
  
Connor, who was tossing Skittles up in the air and catching him, answered the man. "He's getting ice cream with Wesley and Fred. They should be home..."  
  
Just then the outside door was pushed open and in stepped Wesley, Fred, and Andy, who was chattering up a storm.  
  
"...now." Connor said, with a smile. He held Skittles to his chest, so that the cat wouldn't dart away. The kitten was still a little upset over being chased by the child. He didn't trust Andy and if Connor was being perfectly honest, he would admit that he didn't trust Andy either. "How was the ice cream?" He asked the energetic little boy.  
  
"It was good." Andy said, with a bounce. "Daddy!" He squealed, when he saw Lindsey standing beside the counter. Lindsey squatted and opened his arms. That was all the invitation Andy needed, to go running into the embrace. He squeezed Lindsey's neck and started chattering more enthusiastically. "We went to the 'Saskin Bobbins' and after we got all full and sticky, Fred took me to the rest room, to get cleaned up." Andy stopped talking and looked back at Fred, with a frown, before leaning into his dad's ear and whispering, loudly. "She made me go in the girl's bathroom." He pulled back and nodded, to stress his point.  
  
Lindsey tried not to laugh. He remembered being at the age where it was weird to go into the girl's restroom. He also remembered the age where it was cool to spy in the girl's restroom. Lindsey hoped that he would have a while before Andy was recounting those sort of stories to him.  
  
  
  
"...the zoo and this time I didn't eat any 'gallels'." Andy nodded, and smiled, triumphantly. Obviously, it took a great bit of will power not to eat 'gallels'.  
  
Lindsey smiled, with pride. He didn't care what Amelie thought. Andy was his child, even if it was only in spirit. Of course, somewhere down the line, he would probably get so curious that he would have blood work done, but as of right now, it didn't matter. What did matter was whether he and his family were happy. Family... Lindsey hugged Andy to him, cutting off whatever the boy had been saying. "God, I love you."  
  
Andy was confused. He didn't know what he had said to make Lindsey hug him so tightly, but whatever it was, he was glad he said it. "I love you, too." He hugged Lindsey back and then, jumped with a start. There was a loud crash from Angel's office. "What was that?"  
  
"They're at it, again." Cordelia muttered. "Connor, go yank your dad off of Spike and tell him that they need to grow up."  
  
Connor shook his head. "Nope. I have money riding on their immaturity."   
  
Wesley perked up, on this note. "Money riding on what?"  
  
"Over which vampire will win the fight. Angel drew a picture of Spike and he's trying to get it back." Connor stated, mildly. "I have twenty dollars bet toward my dad's victory."   
  
Wesley grinned, devilishly, and dug into his back pocket, pulling out a wallet. "If twenty is the going rate, I'll put it on Spike. He already has the picture and he would probably rather die, again, rather than give it up."  
  
Fred thought it all over and shook her head. "Wes, can I borrow twenty dollars?" Wesley pulled out another bill and handed it to Fred, with a smile. The woman thanked him and then held it up in the air. "I'm putting this on Angel."  
  
Wesley quirked a brow, at the woman. "Really?"  
  
Fred nodded. "I like Spike a lot, but he isn't Angel." Fred noticed the 'duh' look, written across Wesley's face and added. "Angel's a hero, remember? The hero always wins, in the end."  
  
Wesley nodded and sighed. "Damn it. I already placed my bet." He had meant for his tone to be teasing, but it came out more sarcastic than anything. Fred laughed out loud, over the comment, which made Wesley grin ear to ear.   
  
"Is this a private party?" Gunn came down the stairs, stretching toward the ceiling. He looked well rested and more than a little pleased, about the fact.  
  
"Nope." Fred said, crossing her arms over her chest. "We are betting over who will win in the fight. Spike the immortal or Angel the... other immortal." Fred sighed and smirked. "I'm not good at coming up with nicknames, right off the top of my head."  
  
"The names should be Spike the brazenly, perfect hunk-o-saurus and Angel... that other guy." Everyone turned to see Spike slumping, in the office doorway. He was bleeding, from a cut on his forehead, and his shirt was missing. Other than that, he seemed perfectly fine.  
  
"So?" Connor asked. Everybody waited as Spike grunted and walked out into the lobby and slumped down on the couch. He let out a deep breath and shook his head. "Ask your dad."  
  
As soon as Spike had mentioned him, Angel was filling up the doorway. He looked at the expectant faces and asked. "What?" Okay, his hair was spiked straight up and his shirtsleeve was ripped halfway off at the elbow, but that was no reason for them to be staring at him like that.  
  
"You're buying me new shirts, Angelus." Spike stated, from his place on the couch. He tossed his arm over his eyes and huffed. "They better be black, medium, and Hanes, or by all that's holy... and unholy too, you bastard... I'll go in your closet and attack your pretty shirts, with the paper shredder." As an afterthought, Spike added. "Make 'em those Tagless Tees, Angel. They come in three packs. That'll more than make up for your idiocy."   
  
"Your just pissed about the picture." Angel grinned and pulled out the paper that caused the problem, in the first place.  
  
Connor laughed, jovially. "I think some people owe me and Fred some money."  
  
Angel stuffed the paper back in his pocket and looked at Connor. "Why?"  
  
Connor shrugged. "We were betting on who would win, in your fight." Connor grinned. "I bet on you and so did Fred. Katie said you would win, but she didn't put money on it."  
  
"Who bet against me?" Angel asked, curiously.  
  
"Lindsey, Lorne, and Wesley all bet that Spike would win." Connor smiled at Lorne, who was purposefully trying not to look in Angel's direction.  
  
Spike, who had been trying to ignore Angel's gloating, had perked up to listen to what was going on. "So, I have some fans, yeah?" Spike sat up straight and grinned at Angel. "They know what a tool you are, Angel. That's why they picked me."  
  
Angel arched a brow at his childe and shook his head. "And who won the fight?" He grinned, when Spike settled back in his seat and started frowning at the ceiling.   
  
"So was I right, Lindsey?" Katie was coming down the stairs, carrying a duffel bag and a small baseball cap. She took a few more steps, until she was standing right in front of Lindsey and Andy. She fitted the cap on Andy's head and patted his shoulder. The little boy grinned up at his soon-to-be step mom, which made her heart swell with pride. "Lindsey, do you think you could put this in the car?"  
  
Lindsey looked at the bag and shook his head. "We can just take it with us, when we head out the door."  
  
Katie sighed and rolled her eyes. "Lazy."  
  
Lindsey nodded, with a smile, as he stood up and rubbed the back of Andy's, hat covered head. "How do you feel about going on a trip, Andy?"  
  
Andy shrugged. "Who am I going with?"  
  
Lindsey almost laughed at the comment, but then he realized how unfunny it really was. He suddenly felt very possessive of this little boy... his little boy. He squatted down, until he was staring into the boy's eyes. "You will be with me and Katie from now on, okay? Do you understand? I'm going to take care of you."  
  
Andy smiled. "Cause you love me?"  
  
Lindsey nodded and grinned. "Yes, because I love you."  
  
"Aww..." Spike cooed from his place on the couch. "It's like one of those Lifetime, made for TV movies, without the abusive daddy." Spike yelped, when a bottle of unopened nail polish pegged him in the chest. "What?!" He shot a look over at Cordelia, who was glaring a hole through his forehead. "I was just..."  
  
"Making an ass out of yourself?" Cordelia offered, as an explanation.  
  
Lindsey pushed Andy toward Katie and told them they should say their goodbyes. The two headed over toward the desk, where Wesley, Gunn, Lorne, and Fred stood watching the argument between vampire and she-woman. When they realized Andy was trying to get their attention, they decided to ignore the spectacle and say goodbye, in hushed tones.  
  
"He's just in a pissy mood, because I beat him like a newborn fledgling." Angel chuckled, almost evilly.   
  
Spike rolled his eyes and turned to the side, lifting his knees up to his chest and huffed. "You didn't beat me that bad." He muttered. "Where are my bloody cigarettes?"  
  
"You quit smoking, Spike." Connor said, as he sat next to his 'brother'. He nudged Spike's shoulder and the vampire glanced back at him. Connor handed Skittles over to Spike, who smiled fondly. Connor leaned in toward Spike and whispered, quiet enough that Angel couldn't hear. "Why don't you just let him think that he is the head vampire, for a while. In the long run, you know the truth."   
  
Spike nodded, as held the little kitten to his chest and stroked its fur. It was purring, softly, and snuggling into his naked chest. Spike realized something and frowned, back at Connor. "You bet against me!" He shouted, making the kitten in his arms go tense and claw at his torso. Spike ignored the small scratches and swiveled around, so he could smack Connor more easily.  
  
Connor laughed and leaned back into the cushion. "Hey, it's your problem, if you can't just get over it." Connor held out his arms, in a silent plea for his kitten. "Give 'im back."  
  
Spike looked down at the kitten and shook his head. "Nuh-uh... I think I'd rather eat him, actually."  
  
Connor sat up straight and let out a quiet growl. "Give. Him. Back."  
  
"Now this is more like it." Spike nuzzled the kitten, before handing him back to his master. He watched the boy hug the kitty to his chest. "I'm gonna' write a book about you and that cat called, 'Not Without My Kitten'. It'll be a hit." He confided in the boy.  
  
Lindsey sighed, as he watched his son hug Fred and whisper something that made the young woman giggle and blush. "You guys ready?"   
  
Andy looked up at his father and smiled. "I have to tell Angel and Spike bye-bye, too!" He informed his father. The little boy darted around the desk and jumped at Angel's leg, latching on around his thigh. "Goodbye, Angel."  
  
Angel looked down at the boy, in surprise. He could hardly believe that a small child was choosing to cling to his leg. Angel wasn't sure what was the appropriate thing to do, in this situation.  
  
Spike bit back a laugh, as he watched the look of horror pass across Angel's face. He flashed Connor a grin, before standing up and walking over to his sire's side. He leaned in toward Angel and whispered. "Pet the back of his head and say you'll miss having him around."  
  
Angel did as he was instructed and the little boy looked up at him, joyously. "You'll miss me?"  
  
Angel pretended to think about it for a minute and then nodded at the child. "I'll miss you."  
  
Andy let go of Angel and looked over at Spike, sticking out his hand. "It's not sticky, I promise."  
  
Spike laughed and bent down to grab the kid into a bear hug. He tickled Andy under the ribs, making the little boy squeal. "I'll miss you, too, you little brat."  
  
"I'm not a brat!" Andy stated, in between giggles. He broke away from Spike's embrace and ran behind his daddy's legs. He looked over at Connor and smiled, sheepishly. "Bye-bye, Connor. Bye, Skittles."  
  
Connor smiled at the boy and lifted Skittles paw, using it to wave at Andy.  
  
The little boy laughed and buried his face into the back of his father's thighs.  
  
Lindsey looked back at Andy and sighed. "You ready?"  
  
"Yes." Andy nodded and pulled back to look at his dad. "You haven't said goodbye, yet."  
  
Lindsey shrugged. "I'm leaving. The goodbyes are implied."  
  
Andy screwed up his little nose and 'hmmed'. "Mine weren't?"  
  
"No." Lindsey said, with a grin. "People tend to be happier to see me go, than they are with you."  
  
Katie laughed. "I like to watch you go. Is that kind of the same thing?"  
  
Lindsey arched a brow and shook his head. "I don't think so." Lindsey walked over to Katie and gave her a quick kiss, while pulling the duffel from her grasp. "You ready?"  
  
She smiled and waved at everyone. "Thank you for the help and hospitality. If any of you find yourselves passing through the hospitable south, come by Louisiana and we'll have a bash. Us Louisianans know how to throw a party."  
  
Lindsey took the little bit of time that Katie was talking, to walk over to Angel and put out his hand. "Thank you, Angel."  
  
Angel nodded and took the proffered hand. "You would have done the same for me."  
  
The men exchanged amused glances. "No, you wouldn't." "No, I wouldn't." They stated, at the same time.   
  
Lindsey stepped away from the vampire and looked over at Spike, giving him a small salute.   
  
Spike returned the acknowledgement and grinned. "I'll take you and your girlfriend up on her offer, one of these days. I believe I have a much-deserved vacation coming up."  
  
Angel threw a look at his childe that fairly screamed 'yeah right'.   
  
Lindsey nodded and joined Katie and Andy, at the door. Everyone shouted their goodbyes, again, as the family went outside and started on their journey.  
  
Connor sighed and settled back into his seat, on the couch. "Why is it so hard to say goodbye?"  
  
Lorne was the first 'person' to find an answer, to the boy's question. "It's only hard to say goodbye to those that you will miss having around."  
  
Spike grunted. "Well, I'll miss the whole lot of 'em." Angel spared his childe a glance and Spike shrugged. "The mite was cute. The lady was a sweet-heart. The guy had a nice speaking voice." He grinned at his sire. "They all had their qualities."  
  
Angel grunted. "Lindsey's still as bitchy as he was the last time I saw him." Angel crossed his arms across his chest, defiantly. "Damn it! I'm going to miss him, too."   
  
Cordelia, Wesley Fred, Lorne, and Gunn exchanged looks. They remembered what it was like when Lindsey was the only bad guy that could really get Angel riled. They had always known that Lindsey wasn't as big of a threat as he tried to make himself out to be. They also knew that angel needed somebody like Lindsey to keep Angel on his toes and keep him non-broody.  
  
Spike took a step over toward his sire and slapped him on the shoulder. "You know, Angel. I think you just an epiphany. All this time that you pretended you hated having Lindsey around, you actually enjoyed his company. What does that say about us?"  
  
Angel arched an eyebrow, at his childe, and shook his head.  
  
Spike sighed. "Yup, it is just as I thought. You love me." Spike nodded to emphasize his point. "Well, after we all pretend to celebrate the ending of another mission, you, my man..." Spike pressed his forefinger into the middle of Angel's chest. "... are going to rest up, for a new mission."  
  
Angel sighed and rubbed his temples. "What mission is that Spike?"  
  
"You and me are going to Wal-Mart. Have you forgotten, already?" Spike gave his sire a perplexed look and grunted. "You're buying me t-shirts!"  
  
Angel's mouth dropped open and he closed it. It was better to just leave well enough alone, after all.   
  
The AI group watched the vampires in interested. A few sighed and rolled their eyes, while the others just grinned. Yes, Angel needed someone to keep him on his toes and non-broody. That's why they were all relieved when Spike decided to stick around.  
  
Spike nodded, triumphantly and ran for the stairs. He turned back toward his sire and grinned. "Angel?"  
  
"What, Spike?" Angel groaned.  
  
"Will you still buy me shirt, when I steal your shan-shu?" Spike batted his eyes, at his sire, and then turned on his heel and darted up the stairs.  
  
Angel growled and raced after his childe. "You aren't even suspect to steal it, if your dead!" He threatened.  
  
Connor sighed and held his kitty up in the air. He talked to it in cooing tones. "Those boys... What are we going to do with them?" Connor sighed and dropped the kitten on his chest. It pawed his chest and turned in a complete circle, before plopping down and curling into a ball. He looked over at his friends, behind the desk, and smiled. "Nothing."  
  
The End  
  
-Okay, so I suppose you have already figured out that this is only the end of Carpe Diem and not the series. The story was actually longer than I ever expected to make it. I enjoyed writing it and I hope that you enjoyed reading it. Obviously, I can't steer away from corny endings, but you know what? I think it was good sappy fun. Anyway, if you have read this story, at all, (whether you have reviewed before or not, isn't relevant) please review. I would love to hear what you have to say about the story... even if it isn't a pleasant review, per se. Okay, now here is something you can participate in. Feed my muse! If you have ideas for another story, I'll take them into consideration. I've already brought back Penn and Lindsey... I could bring back Doyle *thinks about it* or not. We'll see. Of course, it goes without saying that I don't have to bring anybody back, at all. By the by, I love you all and thank you for the reviews.-  
  
--The subtitle was So Happy Together, which is a song by The Turtles. Hippies are so cool.-- 


End file.
